


What to do With a Lazy Manservant?

by Smcstrav



Series: 5 Times Merlin Surprised People [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 5 Times, Friendship, Gen, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, underestimated!Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-09
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-08-29 23:53:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8510647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smcstrav/pseuds/Smcstrav
Summary: Merlin has a reputation for being lazy and incompetent. It almost gets him into trouble with the King, but Uther decides to take a closer look and learns the truth.Merlin is not the useless idiot that he is assumed to be. This is the third story in the series 'Five Times Merlin Surprised People with Unexpected Skills'





	1. Chapter 1

**Hard-Working – Part 1**

Merlin stifled a yawn of fatigue as he stood behind Arthur, carafe of wine held precariously in one hand. Leaning forward to top up the Prince's goblet, he whispered, "How much longer do you think they are going to be talking about that stupid fair?" as he cocked his head in Lord Reginald and Sir Derrick's direction. "I'd really like the chance to at least _see_ my bed before I have to start my morning chores."

The two brothers were seated across the table from Arthur, and were engaged in deep conversation with the King. They had come to Camelot well in advance of the weeklong tournament that was to be held to honour the 30th anniversary of Uther's crowning. Like most others of the 30 or so nobles that had been invited to have dinner at the King's table that evening, they were hoping to take care of some business with the King before the start of the competitions.

"Not sure," mumbled Arthur, trying not to show that he was discussing anything other than cup-refills with a _servant_. "They need my father's grant of permission to hold one on their lands, but I've not heard them put forward much of an argument to support it." He glanced up at Merlin and took a swallow of his wine. "I'm pretty sure that what they propose will compete with the fair at Sorfield."

"Oh," said Merlin, stepping back out of the way again. The servant barely let his back touch the wall before boredom drove him once more towards the Prince. "And is that good or bad?" he asked, pouring more wine as an excuse to approach the table again so soon.

Unfortunately, Arthur's goblet was already so full that Merlin only managed to make it overflow, the wine dripping down the side of the cup and pooling on the table in a half-circle around the base, where the Arthur had set it.

"Idiot," hissed the Prince, grabbing the cloth that was draped over his servant's arm and wiping his hand, which had been resting on the stem of the goblet. "Watch what you are doing next time!"

Merlin's eyes widened when he realized what he'd done, but he relaxed since Arthur's words had been said without any real anger. "Sorry, Sire," he said, but as he tried to take back his cloth, he jarred the goblet causing it to wobble dangerously and slop even more of the wine onto the table top.

Merlin quickly began to soak up the mess. He desperately hoped that nobody had noticed as, for whatever reason, Merlin's clumsiness at the dinner table had made its appearance several times in the last few days, and usually just at times when the King was looking his way.

The King did not miss it this time either, and Merlin gulped and almost dropped the entire carafe when he glanced up and saw Uther glaring directly at him. To make it worse, his mishap had not only caught the King's attention, but also that of the two brothers who had been talking with him. Merlin wondered if the entire _room_ had seen him spill the wine and thought that maybe he should just throw the jug and the cloth and perhaps a few plates across the room, do a jig and then jump out the window to make his mortification complete.

Arthur's slap across the back of his head brought his attention back to the Prince. "Merlin, only you!" he said. "I'm not sure why I put up with you."

"Me either," the servant agreed with a sad shake of his head, adding "…OW?!" as the fact of being hit finally registered.

"Can you just _leave_ that?" Arthur said, seeing that Merlin was now spreading the mess around more than he was managing to clean it up. "One of the other servants will do that. I think _you_ need to go home and find your bed."

Merlin looked up at the Prince, hurt. This time there _had_ been anger in Arthur's tone. "It's … well it was a long day, and I'm tired," the servant complained. He had been up before dawn and had run around doing errands non-stop for the rest of the day. It was always busy at the Castle in the time leading up to a tournament.

Arthur scowled, "Yes, well for whatever reason, you are useless now," he said. "So go. I'll see you early tomorrow with my breakfast, and don't be late," he warned.

* * *

Lord Reginald watched with interest as Arthur waved the young, dark-haired servant out of the room and called over another boy to take care of the mess that the first had caused. The noble's eyes followed the departing boy as he left the room, and he smiled when he noticed that Sir Derrick also had his eyes on the slim figure.

"Sire," Reginald said, turning to the King, "are Camelot's servants always so entertaining?"

Uther scowled, "Well, _entertaining_ is certainly not a word I would use for _that_ one," he said. " _Disaster_ would be better, though I prefer not to think about him at all."

Reginald looked towards his brother and caught his eye. The two men were always on the lookout for a pretty boy to add to the collection they already had serving at their manor.

"If you do not wish to keep him, we could take him off your hands," Derrick said. "We are short on servants just now, and we could offer a good price for him. After all, we would then have the privilege of boasting that we have a Camelot-trained man in our household."

Uther narrowed his eyes, wondering if the knight was serious about taking the boy off his hands. If so, it could be a good opportunity to rid his son of the idiot and find a replacement worthier of serving a Crown Prince. "I will … consider it …" he said he said slowly.

Uther continued to mull over the possibility. The boy was not a slave, so Uther could not very well _sell_ him outright, as Sir Derrick had implied. However, it would be simple enough to force the servant to comply with his King's demands, should Uther come up with a reasonable justification for his _reassignment_. The problems were that first, he, himself had taken on the boy in a very public hiring, and second, for some incomprehensible reason Arthur seemed to like having the useless servant around. Uther knew he would need a good reason for trading the boy to Sir Derrick; some proof of him being unfit for his job that his son would agree with, or at least could not refute.

He looked over towards Arthur several times during the rest of the evening and saw that he was being efficiently seen to by an unobtrusive young servant. One who knew his place. And kept busy _serving_ things. And did not spill wine all over the table. Or interrupt a Prince to ask questions about things that were none of his business.

Uther sat back with a sigh. He had had enough of thinking about servants for one night. But, although he did not usually take any notice of them, he knew that he would need to make an exception if he wanted an excuse to get rid of Arthur's manservant. He decided that he would keep an eye on the boy until the beginning of the tournament. The servant already had a reputation for laziness; surely it would be easy to collect enough evidence of it and have the boy packing even before the first round of the competition had begun.

* * *

"Ah, Merlin," said Gaius as his ward straggled down the stairs the next morning. "I was wondering when you would get up."

Merlin stepped off the bottom stair and stopped to rub the sleep out of both eyes before moving forward again. "Why?" he asked, raising a hand to cover a yawn. "It's still early, isn't it?" Merlin squinted to look out the window and confirmed that it was only just past dawn. Even though Arthur had banished him from the dining room before the dinner was finished, that had still been after the midnight bell had rung, and he'd had a few things to clean up in Gaius' chambers even after that before finally being able to head to his own room. It seemed like he had only just closed his eyes when the morning light cracked through his window, and he grudgingly pulled himself out of his bed once more.

"I need you to go fishing," Gaius said, giving a last stir to the bowl of oatmeal he was preparing.

Merlin stopped in his tracks, uncomprehending. "Whaa?" he asked, sure that his tired brain must have scrambled Gaius' words.

Gaius chuckled, "Yes, you heard me right. _Fishing,"_ he repeated as he set the bowl down at Merlin's place and brought over two cups and a pot of steaming tea.

Merlin sat down and picked up his spoon, taking a bite of the hot cereal while he waited for Gaius to fill in the details.

"There is a rare type of perch that can be found only in the lake just outside the city for a few days every few years," Gaius said. "Sir Leon came by yesterday and to tell me that he spotted one while he was out on a patrol near there."

Merlin took another bite of his oatmeal, "Perch..." he said. "Um… why? Are they made of gold or something? We can't just fish for the regular type once all the fuss with getting ready for the tournament is done?"

"No, I'm afraid it cannot wait," Gaius said, chuckling at Merlin's expression of doubt. "Leon knows I keep an eye out for them. They are very useful medicinally," he explained enthusiastically. "The oil, the scales, the fins and even the bones and eyes form the base for many of my more esoteric preparations."

Merlin grimaced, hoping that he would never _ever_ have to drink down a potion made up of _those_ particular ingredients.

Gaius smiled at Merlin's obvious distaste, "And if you manage to catch any, we will also have a very good dinner tonight as an extra benefit," he added.

"That right there will make it worthwhile then, I'm sure," Merlin said with a smile. "But I have to check with Arthur and the Steward first. They've been keeping me busy with all sorts of extra chores because of this tournament." The warlock shook his head, "Did you know that Arthur sent me all the way to Milton yesterday just to get a new button for his dress cloak? _Milton!_ For a _button_." Merlin scowled, "He _said_ he needed one with the special dragon inlay that only _they_ can do. I couldn't even use my magic to make one and avoid the trip," he said. "I didn't know what the stupid thing looked like."

"Just do your best," Gaius said, hiding a smile at his ward's outrage, "I cannot ask for more than that, but knowing you, I have no doubt that you will find a way."

* * *

Merlin did eventually find some time head out to the small lake just beyond Camelot's eastern gate. As he'd expected, Arthur and the Steward kept him busy mucking horses' stalls, cleaning windows and washing more floors than existed in the entire _village_ of Ealdor. It was exhausting work, but was not really unpleasant if truth be told. Since all of the other servants in the castle were just as overloaded as Merlin, it was a time of camaraderie as they helped each other out, and commiserated over all of the extra chores. Merlin even saw George wipe away a bead of _sweat!_ Apparently the world's perfect servant _was_ human after all.

It was Cook who finally provided the opportunity he needed. She wanted some watercress collected for dinner that evening, and insisted that the most succulent plants grew by a stream that fed into the same lake that was home to Gaius' perch. Most of the other servants did not like to venture outside of the Castle walls, but Merlin was delighted when Steward asked if he would mind taking on the task.

* * *

"What is _that_?" Arthur asked as Merlin arrived at his chambers bringing his lunch. "You look ridiculous!"

Merlin looked around and, seeing that the Prince's desk was covered with scrolls and parchments, set the tray down on the small table by the fireplace. The servant smiled and let the large round woven bag he was carrying slip off of his shoulder. He held it out to Arthur to inspect. "It's Cook's," he said. "Yeah, it's a good thing she is talented in the kitchen, because she's quite _horrible_ at embroidery." He laughed and pointed to a black mass of stitches with some white spikes at the ends, which Merlin took to be claws. "I think this is meant to be a cat," he said.

"Cat?" Arthur asked, pulling the bag in for a closer look. "I would have guessed it was some sort of swamp monster or something," Dropping the bag he looked back up at his servant, "But why do _you_ have Cook's bag?"

"She needs watercress for dinner tonight, and Steward told her I would go out to the stream and collect it for her," Merlin answered. "As long as you don't need me for anything urgent, that is," he added.

Arthur looked at him, and then glanced around the room. "As long as you clean up in here, and are back in time to pour my bath, I should be able to spare you. Besides, Cook does this thing… with bacon… and… yes, by all means collect her some watercress."

Merlin snickered. "As much as I can carry, I promise," he said. "I also need to get some sort of medicinal fish for Gaius, so I will do that while I am out there."

"Medicinal fish?" asked Arthur raising his eyes skeptically. "No, I don't want to know," he said, holding up a hand to silence Merlin when it looked like the servant was about to explain. "Just be back to pour my bath."

* * *

It did not take long for Merlin to finish cleaning up the room. Not once Arthur had left for the training ground, and the warlock could safely send a couple of tendrils of magic to speed things along, in any case. He let the papers on the desk organize themselves and the laundry float its own way to the basket, while he swept the floor. That done, he secured Cook's bag on his shoulder, picked up the basket and the dirty lunch dishes and left Arthur's chambers.

Merlin hummed tunelessly as he walked along the pathway leading from the road to the bend in the stream where Cook had said the most succulent watercress grew. Once he got closer, he deposited everything but the cat/swamp monster bag near a large rock a few paces away from the banks of the stream, and headed over to take a closer look.

"Oh, well that's …" he muttered, peering out into the water in dismay. There was plenty of luscious-looking watercress, all right, but it was right in the middle of the widest point of the stream, where the water was at least waist deep. "She didn't _tell_ me I was going to need to go swimming for it!" he complained to himself.

Merlin scowled, hands on hips for a moment before he got an idea. "Maybe there's a way…" he said, looking about for a long stick or something that he might use to pull some of the plants towards the shore. "I know; my fishing rod should do it!" he decided, trotting back and retrieving the pole from where he had left it.

"Now, if I could …. just…" he said, crouching down and reaching out to try to corral the plants. But, no matter how far he leaned, he still did not come near to even touching the closest of them. He gave up on his idea when he tottered and almost lost his balance, only preventing himself from slipping right down the bank and into the stream by flailing his arms until he was able to right himself enough to flop down on the muddy bank.

Merlin lay there for a moment, breathing heavily. Once his heart had stopped pounding from his near miss, he stood up and looked around, hoping that he might get away with using his magic to move the watercress towards the shore. He discarded the idea straight away; there were just too many people on the road nearby. He shook his head sadly, "So… well… I guess I'm wet already…" he said, and resigned to an imminent plunge in the cold stream, he began to remove his jacket.

Once his jacket, belt and neckerchief were folded and put beside his other things, Merlin climbed down the bank and waded out to where the plants were growing. With not much purchase on the rocky bottom, it was hard work cutting through the roots of the plant, although at least this far from the road Merlin could use a subtle bit of magic to help untangle them. Still, by the time the warlock filled his bag and dragged himself out of the water, he was completely drenched and was breathless with exhaustion.

"I _hope_ that Cook does not need more of this any time soon," Merlin groaned from where he lay in the grass at the top of the bank. Once he felt able to move again, he pulled himself up to a sitting position, and allowed himself a tiny trickle of magic to warm himself and get at least some of the water out of his clothes. It was late spring and though the sun was warm, the stream had been cold enough that his fingernails were still blue-tinted from being in the water so long. Shivering, he dared to repeat the spell before he finally forced himself to his feet. "I guess that will have to do," he said, leaning over to grab his jacket and the other clothes he had taken off to go wading. Once he was dressed, Merlin hefted his cress-filled bag, picked up his fishing rod and the rest of his various packs and bags and sloshed his way slowly along the banks of the stream.

* * *

Merlin had to walk quite a long way along the lakeshore past where the stream fed into the lake before he found a spot that was likely to attract fish. "This should be perfect," he said, looking around. Nodding with satisfaction, the servant sat down on a grassy place on the bank, divested himself of all his luggage and leaned up against a large tree that overhung the lake. He cast his line and checked to be sure his hook was where he wanted it, and after looking around to make sure nobody was about, he cast a luring spell on the bait.

"Now, I wait," the warlock sighed. He hated this part of fishing, but there was nothing more he could do until the fish decided to investigate. He just hoped that Gaius' perch were close enough that it would not take too long to catch the five the physician needed. Merlin had already been away from the castle much longer than he'd expected and along with getting Arthur's bath ready he had plenty of work waiting for him once he returned.

Merlin leaned over to take another look into the water. "Still nothing," he said, and then chuckled at himself, since he had really only just cast his line. The servant settled back against the tree trunk once again. At least he had thought to bring Arthur's boots to polish along with some of the clothes that were waiting to be mended, so waiting for the fish to bite would not be a complete waste of time. He used his knees to hold his fishing rod, adding a securing spell to ensure that it would not slip, and took out the first boot.

He managed to polish both boots and start on the mending before he felt the first nibble of interest. "Oh, maybe ….," he said, catching his lower lip between his teeth. Taking a firm hold of the rod with both hands, he waited eagerly, only for the movement to fade away. When he was sure the fish, or whatever it had been, was not on his hook he let out a sigh of disappointment and went back to his mending.

After three more tempting nips that did not go any further, Merlin gave into his frustration and risked strengthening the luring spell he had used earlier. Unfortunately, even this did not seem to have any effect.

"That's it," he said to himself, starting on the last bit of mending. "If I haven't had a bite by the time I finish this sock, I'm going to have to head back to the castle." He adjusted his rod a little bit, "Gaius will just have to hope that I can get away again tomorrow."

* * *

When the last sock was mended, Merlin reached over and put it into his pack, "Ok, well that's enough of this," he said, getting ready to release the fishing rod from between his knees. But the fishing gods had other ideas, as just then a strong tug on the line pulled the rod right out from between his knees, and sent it heading straight towards the lake.

Merlin dropped his bag of mending, and scrambled to retrieve his gear, grabbing it only to have another yank almost take it right out of his hands again. The servant's eyes widened with surprise; Gaius had obviously neglected to tell him that the 'rare' perch was also some sort of _monster._ Luckily, he'd done his fair share of fishing in Ealdor, and so he knew how to manoeuver the line and bring a hard-fighting fish in closer and closer until he could finally drag it out of the lake.

Breathing hard from the exertion, he took it off of the hook and rebaited. "Ok, looks like this is going to be _war,"_ he chuckled and rather than sit by the tree, he clambered down the slippery bank and waded out into the water until it was knee deep. Perch typically swam in schools, so if he was lucky, he could quickly catch the rest of the five he needed. It would be much easier to get the fish out of the water from his new location.

It did not take very long to hook two more, each putting up a bigger fight than the last. "I'm lucky my arms have not fallen out yet," Merlin breathed as he pulled in the third. "And taken my shoulders right with them."

Merlin climbed back up the bank, trying not to damage the fish that he had tied together with a hemp string and hung over his shoulders. He grasped at the slippery stones, trying to pull himself upward. Once he reached the top of the bank, he slumped to the ground and sat resting for a moment until he found enough energy to remove the fish from their hooks and put them in the bag with the first.

"There is no way I am going back down there again," the servant said with a grimace. He leaned back against the tree trunk for a few moments before deciding that he could just stay where he was. Surely he could catch the rest of the fish in the same way as he'd caught the first.

Merlin sighed, and reached for the rod and bait, and cast his line into the water once more. It seemed that the school had moved off, as he had no nibbles and the water was still. "Maybe just one more little luring spell," he decided, his eyes shining golden for a brief moment. That done, the warlock shifted to find a more comfortable position against the tree.

Unfortunately, with no mending or polishing left to distract him from the hypnotic sound and view of the calm water gently lapping against the bank of the lake, and since the sun was high in the sky, the day was warm and the tree trunk was surprisingly comfortable, it was almost inevitable that the tired young servant nodded off to sleep.

* * *

"Sire, I had heard that Camelot was beautiful, but I did not know that it extended to the countryside outside its walls," said Lord Reginald, bringing his horse almost alongside the King's.

Uther had organized a tour of the towns just outside of the city, and many of the visiting nobles and knights had joined him. The King wanted to show his retainers some of the features of Camelot's watch towers, as he expected them to fortify their lands in the same way. Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald had been among the first to add their names to the list to accompany the King, hoping to find more time to put forward their case for their fair, not to mention their offer to take possession of the young, lithe, dark-haired manservant. Uther had told them he would decide on the latter within the week, but the brothers were anxious to get the boy under their command.

Uther grunted his agreement to the noble, "Yes, it is, but it is also highly defendable," the King insisted. He was getting ready to point out a sentry post on the roadway beside the small lake the group was nearing when he noticed several bags sitting beside a tree and a fishing line in the water.

The boy holding the rod came into sight as the road they were on rounded the corner and began to follow the lake. "Is that not the servant who spilled the wine last night?" asked Sir Derrick coming up behind his brother.

Lord Reginald stood in his stirrups to get a better look. "Yes, and it looks as though he's found a way to give his master the slip," he said with a laugh. "Derrick, I believe a new set of shackles may be needed once the boy becomes our servant."

Uther scowled in anger. All of the _other_ servants in the castle were busy preparing for his 30th Anniversary celebrations, and here was Arthur's manservant _fishing._ Fishing and _sleeping_ when he should be attending the Prince _._ It was exactly the type of laziness he had expected from the boy, and to make things worse, it was in full view of important, visiting nobility. The King had a mind to hand the servant over to Lord Reginald that _moment_ and only held himself back with difficulty. Arthur would likely find some excuse for the idiot, so he decided that it would be better if he found more evidence before making his final decision.

Merlin never noticed the group that passed him by and continued along the road, and so missed both the look of disgust that the King aimed at him and Sir Derrick's lecherous smirk.


	2. Chapter 2

"What is the matter with you tonight?" Arthur asked his servant as Merlin began to hurriedly step away after having filled Arthur's goblet.

"What?" asked Merlin, in confusion. "I'm doing everything right!" The servant had been very anxious since the beginning of the meal when he noticed how Uther kept looking over at him with frowns of disapproval. He decided that for once he had better try to act the perfect servant, and so far, at least to his knowledge, he had not slipped up.

Arthur chuckled. "That's what I'm talking about," he said. "I'm not sure what to make of it. I keep waiting for the ceiling to fall in or something. It's disconcerting."

"Ha ha…," said Merlin, but when he saw Uther _again_ looking his way, he refused any further retort, snapped his lips together and stepped back to the wall quickly, adopting the disinterested gaze that seemed to come so naturally to the other servants.

Arthur shook his head in bemusement. Dinner was not _nearly_ as entertaining with Merlin behaving like a _proper_ servant _._

* * *

Merlin let out a huge sigh of relief when Arthur decided to leave the Great Hall without waiting for the evening's entertainment to completely come to an end. His back and shoulders were _aching_ from staying so rigidly upright all evening. He hoped Arthur would not need to keep him too late, as he really wanted to get back to the physician's chambers and see if Gaius had some sort of liniment he could use.

"Come _on,_ Merlin," said the Prince who was by now several paces ahead of his flagging servant. "I've got to be up early tomorrow, so I can't afford any of your dawdling."

Merlin tried to increase his pace, but the effort was futile. He was just too tired from all of the added chores, especially collecting the watercress and, of course, landing Gaius' rare perch. He rubbed his aching arms at the memory. "By early, I hope you mean _mid-morning,"_ he said.

"I wish," Arthur answered with a laugh, slowing down once he realized that Merlin was not going to catch up. "No, my Father invited some of the guests from dinner tonight to participate in a special session with me tomorrow. Seems they expressed some doubts about our training regimen in general, and my skills in particular, and so he wants me to set them straight."

Merlin snorted, "Oh, really? Have they never seen you fight?"

"No… or, well a few of them did when I was still a boy," Arthur answered.

"This should be fun to watch then," Merlin laughed, an action which rapidly turned into a wince when it jarred his aching muscles although the servant quickly put the discomfort out of his mind. "From what I've seen of this lot at dinner, they don't look very impressive, though what do I know…. can I lay a wager?"

Arthur grinned at him, "I don't know about the wagering, but I do agree about the fun, _and_ you _saw_ rightly. Most are beyond their prime, and the others seem to be more knowledgeable about the food on their plates and of how to maintain the fullness of their beards than about weapons and tactics. Other than the bit about it being _before_ breakfast, I'm looking forward to putting a few of them in their places." He turned to Merlin with a scowl, "There are some – especially those brothers that keep practically leering at you – that I really want to see grovelling on the ground and asking me for mercy!"

Merlin's eyes shot open, "Leering?" he asked. He recalled Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald laughing at him the previous night, but … _leering?_ He felt a hint of unease, even though he was confident he could avoid the men.

"Don't worry, I won't let them anywhere near you," Arthur promised, causing the tired servant to feel a sudden warm rush of friendship for the Prince.

* * *

It was still relatively early when the young warlock stumbled through the door of the Physician's chambers.

"Merlin, I did not expect you yet," called out Gaius from where he was standing up on a ladder near where he kept his more specialized and infrequently-used equipment. "I wanted to thank you for the perch. I've just finished with the bone-grinding."

Merlin scrunched his nose in disgust, glad that he had not been in the room to witness that particular procedure.

Gaius laughed when he saw his ward's expression. "And I poached the meat. There is a plate of it on the table for you, if you are hungry."

"Thanks Gaius," Merlin said, placing his bag down on the floor and eagerly coming over to find the tasty treat. "I'm famished. Didn't get a chance for any dinner after bringing the fish to you earlier."

The physician finished putting his equipment away, and climbed down the ladder to join his ward. "As it happened, your perch-finding expedition was very timely. I had just finished using the oil to make my special tincture for treating severe abdominal pains, when Sir Geoffrey came in complaining of those very same symptoms! He has suffered on and off with them for years."

Merlin raised his eyebrows in surprise. "That was a happy coincidence," he said, glad for Geoffrey that the fish had started biting just in time, and he had not needed to cut short his fishing trip.

Merlin and Gaius continued their relaxed chatting while Merlin ate his dinner. "Gaius, is there anything you need me to do for you tonight?" the warlock asked, as the two men finished the cups of tea that Gaius had poured.

"No, not that I can think of," the physician answered. "And I hope that means you will be going straight up to your bed. You look like you could use the sleep."

Merlin smiled at his mentor. "Yeah, that was what I was intending," he said.

"Good," Gaius said with a nod of satisfaction. "Then before you head upstairs, let me rub some salve on your shoulders. The way you've been holding yourself so stiffly since you came in reminds me of _me!_ "

Merlin rolled his eyes, not surprised that his attempts to hide his discomfort had been unsuccessful. "Thanks, you can't even _imagine_ how much I would appreciate that," he said gratefully, as he stood and began to remove his shirt.

* * *

Merlin fell asleep as soon as his head touched his pillow, content with a full stomach and with the aches and pains from the day eased.

Unfortunately, his rest did not last very long.

"Merlin!" Gaius called out, knocking twice on the door to the servant's room only a short time after the midnight bell had rung. He pushed open the door without waiting for an answer. "I hate to wake you, but I'm afraid I am going to need your help at a birthing."

Merlin sat up right away, any thoughts of sleep pushed completely to the side due to the urgency of Gaius' request. "Lady Miriam or Lady Winifred?" the warlock asked. Gaius had closely followed the progress of both of the women's pregnancies, since each was carrying twins.

"Er… well, both…in fact," the physician exclaimed. "I was summoned by Lady Winifred not long after you retired, and was just about to leave for her apartments when Miriam's midwife also sent for me." He paused while Merlin pulled on his boots and snatched his jacket up from the floor where he had discarded it only a short time earlier.

"I can see why that would be a problem," the warlock said as they headed down the stairs. "So what do you want me to do?"

"Lady Winifred has had some complications and it is quite early in her pregnancy for her to be in labour," Gaius explained, "So I had better help her, and would ask you to see to Lady Miriam which I hope will be a more routine birth, although it _is_ twins. Summon me immediately if you run into any problems you or the midwife cannot handle, but you have helped me with enough births that I'm confident you won't need me."

Merlin hurried over to the workbench as soon as they reached the bottom step, quickly packing his medical bag with the supplies he knew he would need.

"What's this one for?" he asked as the physician handed him a bottle of blue liquid.

Gaius chuckled. " _That_ is for Sir Robert," he said. "It will calm his nerves."

It was Merlin's turn to chuckle. The servant liked the young nobleman and his pretty wife. They were very much in love and had been elated over their impending parenthood. Merlin guessed that the expectant father may well have need of Gaius' potion.

* * *

The sun had risen, and the early risers were already out and about in the city by the time Merlin left Sir Robert and Lady Miriam's house. The young warlock was exhausted but happy. He had helped Lady Miriam through a difficult labour and left her sleeping peacefully, while Sir Robert held a healthy, swaddled son in each arm. Merlin had grinned as he watched the nobleman. Robert could not stop looking from one baby to the other, his expression full of wonder and pride.

While he was packing up his supplies, and getting ready to take his leave, Merlin had heard Robert refuse to hand either child over to the midwife who was waiting to bring the twins to the pair of wet nurses waiting in the nursery. Rather than getting involved in the argument and knowing that the midwife would soon make the young knight see reason, Merlin picked up his bag and slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind him.

* * *

"Merlin, Arthur is looking for you," called out Gwen from across the large entry hall. The serving girl hurried over to where Merlin had just reached the top step of the large stone stairway leading into the castle.

"Where were you?" Gwen asked, taking in the dark circles under the servant's eyes. "Merlin, have you been up all night?"

"Yeah, but it was for a good cause," he answered tiredly but with a smile. "Lady Miriam had her twins."

Gwen's eyes lit up with excitement. "Oh, I will tell Morgana right away," she said. "I hope we will be able to stop in to visit later today." Miriam was a good friend of Morgana's, and the three women spent quite a bit of time together.

"Don't you need to get some sleep before you go back to work?" Gwen asked, her eyes returning to her weary friend's face. "I could take Arthur a message if you like…"

Merlin smiled at the girl's concern. "No, it's all right," he said. "I'd better see what he wants. Hopefully he will let me go home and take a nap after I've brought his breakfast."

* * *

"Sorry I'm a bit late, Sire," Merlin said as soon as he entered Arthur's chambers.

The Prince was already up and dressed in shirt, pants and with his favourite gambeson pulled on. He had started to put on his hauberk just as Merlin was arriving. "Good, it's about time," Arthur said with a touch of anger, "Did you forget I had a training session this morning?"

Merlin's eyebrows raised and his mouth opened with dismay. "Oh, um… I guess I did, but I _do_ have an explanation," he said, dropping his medical bag and hurrying over to pull the hauberk into place and hand Arthur his gauntlets.

Arthur looked up and him and frowned. "What happened to you?" he asked. "You look like you have not slept in weeks. I hope you did not spend the night in the tavern just because I let you off a little bit early."

"Of course I didn't," Merlin answered, indignantly. "I _said_ I had a _good_ reason…"

"For being late," Arthur answered, cutting him off. "Not for getting no sleep." The Prince tried to hide a smile at his servant's reaction, but was not quite successful.

Merlin grinned. It was clear that Arthur was just baiting him and did not really believe that he had been in the tavern, plus the servant had good news. "It's for both," he answered. "Sir Robert's babes were born last night and I needed to help with that."

"Hmmm," Arthur said, as if he were weighing the merits of Merlin's justification. "Sons?" he asked finally, making it sound as if this were a deciding factor.

"Yes, both of them," Merlin answered. "But if you are about to say that sons would be better than daughters, I will go straight to Morgana and tell her you said so," he added, giving the Prince a push.

"I would not dare!" Arthur replied raising his eyebrows in a mock look of fear. "But yes, your excuse has been accepted." Clasping Merlin by the shoulder, he spun him around and began to lead him towards the door. "Now, we'd better get down to the training grounds. The quicker I can dispatch these _idiot_ knights, the sooner I … _you_ can get my breakfast."

* * *

By the time Merlin and Arthur reached the field, about two dozen of the visiting nobles were already waiting by the stands. About half of those were strutting around dressed in mail, ready to show how much better they were than their Prince. The others were standing in expectation of a good show.

Among those dressed to fight was Sir Derrick, who had gleaming armour and a sword hanging in a scabbard that had gold and jewels encrusted along its full length. All of his equipment looked new, and Arthur stifled a chuckle as it crossed his mind that the man probably did not like to get dirty.

"Merlin, go and put my things over there," Arthur said as they neared where the others were gathered. He pointed to the weapons rack at end of the field opposite the stands. "And just stay there out of the way for now. I'll need you once the matches start"

Merlin quickly made his way across the field to do as he'd been asked. Arthur was confident, but had no reason not to be. What Merlin could not understand was why these visitors did not seem to know of the Prince's reputation as the most skilled knight in Camelot. It became a bit clearer when he overheard two of the competitors talking as they arranged their own equipment.

"I'm sure he is overrated," said one, putting his mace in a slot in one of the racks, and ensuring that the chain was not kinked. "After all, he is the _Prince_ so the knights here who need to deal with him day to day would not dare to show him up."

His companion slid a quarterstaff into another spot, "No, they would not," he answered. "I remember watching him fight several years ago, and what I remember best was how poor of a loser he was!

Merlin smiled to himself at the thought that the men would soon be getting _quite_ a surprise. _He_ knew the truth of the Prince's skill, having seen him easily win a tournament incognito less than a year earlier. He did not have any doubt that Arthur had been prone to poor sportsmanship when he was a lad, though.

The two men laughed as Merlin busied himself with setting out the mace, quarterstaff, knives and other equipment that Arthur had brought with him. He was so concentrated on his work that he did not notice that Sir Derrick had come up beside him until the man spoke.

"So, does the Prince not have a squire?" he asked, his eyes raking Merlin from head to toe. "He cannot be much of a knight if he makes his serving boy take care of his weapons rather than leaving him in the castle, protected."

Merlin coloured and took a step away from the man. Did the knight think he was some sort of damsel to be locked away for safekeeping? "He does not need a squire; I do the job just fine," Merlin answered angrily. "And he is a great knight. The _best_."

"I am sure you think so," said Sir Derrick with a chuckle at Merlin's fierce loyalty. "But that is because you do not know any differently. I can tell by looking that he has you not only overworked, but also doing the wrong types of things." He looked at Merlin again, and there was no mistaking the possessiveness in it. "A servant like you should be cherished and kept out of harm's way."

Merlin's eyes flew open. "Cherished?" he choked out, taking another step back. "I don't need to be _cherished_ at all. What I _need_ is to finish setting out Arthur's equipment so he can win these stupid fights and I can go back to the castle and get to work on his laundry!"

"I think somebody had better teach you to watch your tongue," Sir Derrick said warningly, taking a threatening step towards the servant.

Merlin scrambled to put the weapons rack between himself and the knight and breathed a sigh of relief when the King arrived and joined Arthur, causing the Sir Derrick to forget his interest in the servant and turn and hurry back towards the rest of the visitors.

* * *

"I am pleased to see so many of you out this early in the morning," King Uther said, looking around at the group that had gathered. "Lord Alder, I was not aware that you knew there were hours before noon in the day," he teased, getting a laugh from a large grey-haired man in the middle of the crowd.

"Perhaps not, Sire, perhaps not," the man answered in the same teasing tone. "But my son wished a witness to his prowess in defeating your own and so here I am."

There were more laughs throughout the group, and Arthur, who was standing beside his father, grinned at the man.

"Let us get started then," said Uther with a smile of his own. "And since this is to be a demonstration of the skills encouraged here and expressly of Prince Arthur's mastery of them, I shall have Geoffrey of Monmouth explain how we shall proceed."

Uther gestured for the archivist to come forward and the crowd went silent, waiting for their instructions.

"Each man will fight in turn against Prince Arthur according to short-stick draw," Sir Geoffrey began. "A match will be considered over as soon as either man is relieved of his weapon or is knocked to the ground." The archivist paused to see if there were any questions, but nobody spoke up. "Also, the Prince will offer you your choice of weapons when you fight him," he added, drawing murmurs of surprise from the competitors. Some of them were impressed at the Prince's gesture; others seemed to be scoffing at Arthur's apparent overconfidence.

"Are rules understood?" Uther asked.

"Yes, Sire," somebody called out. "But who will be declared the victor, and will there be a prize?"

Uther smiled and shook his head. "No, as this is merely a demonstration, any victory over my son should be considered prize enough," he said.

There were a few laughs at this, but then Sir Derrick called out, "How about a day of use of Prince Arthur's servant? I don't know about these others, but I could use somebody to help out in my chambers after a week away from home." Others around him rolled their eyes, although a few could be seen nodding with interest.

Uther frowned in thought for a moment, "I don't see why not," he decided. Looking towards an outraged Arthur he said loudly, "The man who defeats my son in the smallest amount of time will be considered the victor, and can make use of the boy for one day should he wish to."

Merlin's eyes widened at the King's words, and he glared at Uther's back, angry that the King had not even asked for Arthur's permission. Merlin was already used to being loaned out during events with many visitors, so he was not particularly bothered at becoming a 'prize', at least he was not until he looked over at Sir Derrick and saw that both the knight and his brother, Lord Reginald, were watching him …lecherously. Merlin shifted his eyes back to Arthur and shuddered, but he was not worried; he gave Sir Derrick less than no chance of ever defeating Arthur.

* * *

With the rules having been laid out, the competition was soon underway. As Merlin had expected, Arthur quickly showed that his reputation was no fluke. He defeated each of the first three participants in less than three turns of the timer, and the next two before the sand had run through even once.

After the sixth man had his mace ripped from his hands and sent flying halfway toward the stands within mere moments, one of the remaining competitors suddenly remembered an urgent business appointment somewhere _far away_ from the training grounds.

Arthur glanced over at Merlin and shrugged as another one of the knights removed his helm and bowed out. "I'm sorry that I doubted you Sire but I feel I had better hide my strengths for the tournament," the man said.

"I look forward to facing you then, Sir Bertram," answered Arthur graciously. At least the man had admitted to being outmatched.

Not so, Sir Derrick. When Arthur sent the next competitor to the ground before he had managed to complete even one sword stroke, the knight glanced up towards his brother who could only offer a small shrug of his shoulders. With only a few participants left, Sir Derrick began to complain. "The Prince has an unfair advantage, as he has had the chance to warm up," he said to the participant beside him.

"Yes, but we are much fresher, and _I_ have been limbering up as I've been watching," came the response, "Did you not think to do the same?"

Sir Derrick scowled and turned to bother the knight to his other side, "The ground here has become too muddy to offer a fair fight," he said.

The man looked at him in confusion, "It's a very light rain, and it's the same ground for us and the Prince," he said. "How can it be _unfair?"_

Before the knight could think up a response, Sir Geoffrey called out, "Sir Derrick, you are next on the field. Please choose your weapon."

Sir Derrick took a few hesitant steps over toward the weapons rack, and then turned back and glanced up at his brother, and then at Arthur who had just dispatched another competitor in less than one turn of the glass. "I regret that I must decline this match," he said, addressing himself to the King. "The conditions on the field have become much too treacherous with mud, and I do not wish to risk any injury that would prevent my participation in the tournament."

Merlin snickered from where he still stood by Arthur's weapons. "And you don't want to get your shiny boots dirty," he whispered.

Unfortunately, Derrick was just close enough to the servant to hear him and the knight turned to scowl at Merlin and quickly closed the ground between them.

Merlin's eyes widened and he tried to scramble out of the way as Sir Derrick raised his hand. The servant was not quite quick enough to avoid the knight's blow, which caught him on the cheek and sent him stumbling to the ground.

"I thought I warned you about minding your tongue," Sir Derrick hissed, leaning down so he was almost nose to nose with the servant and grabbing the collar of Merlin's jacket to pull him even closer. "You will soon find yourself using it to polish those same boots, if I have my way."

"That's enough, Sir Derrick," Arthur said, striding purposefully towards the pair without giving the appearance of rushing. After all, his father was watching, arms crossed and frowning with displeasure, and Arthur was quite certain it was _not_ directed at the knight. "I thought you had declined your turn to fight, but I will be more than happy to reinstate your name on the list."

Sir Derrick let go of Merlin, giving the servant a push before turning and standing to face the Prince. "No, Sire. I simply thought to teach the boy some manners, but as you are here I shall leave that to you." The knight gave a last glare at Merlin before turning his back on the servant, nodding to the Prince and finally retrieving his weapons. He stalked off the field, his brother trotting after him to catch up.


	3. Chapter 3

"Breakfast now, or bath first?" Merlin asked, as Arthur pushed open the door to his chambers and stepped inside.

The two young men had not spoken since they had left the training field, other than for Arthur to order Merlin to pick up and carry his weapons back to the castle. The Prince had walked ahead of his servant. He was becoming uneasy about the glares Uther seemed to have been aiming at Merlin for the last couple of days, and thought it would be best to treat his servant like, well, a _servant._ At least while in public.

Merlin did not even notice. He was too busy trying not to drop everything while keeping up with the Prince. The warlock risked a stabilizing spell when Arthur's mace threatened to drop off the pile in his arms for the _fourth_ _time_. It was something that he'd learned how to do when he was still a baby piling rocks or sticks for the fun of it. It required no words and only the barest hint of golden eyes.

"Hmm…. breakfast, I think," Arthur answered, as Merlin walked over and set Arthur's things down on the floor beside the fireplace. "You can get my bath while I am eating."

Merlin yawned as he came over to help Arthur remove his hauberk, placing the mail shirt on the pile with the rest of the things he would need to clean and polish. "Fine, I'll be right back with it," he said, reaching out towards Arthur's gambeson.

"Never mind this," Arthur said, blocking Merlin's hand. "I can manage the rest myself, so go ahead and get the food now," he added from somewhere within the fabric. "I need to attend the council meeting this morning, so I do not have a lot of time to spare."

Merlin began to walk towards the door, "All right, I should be back in no time."

"Merlin," called out the Prince before the servant slipped out the door. "Make sure there are plenty of sausages. I'm _starving_!"

* * *

Merlin was soon back with the Prince's breakfast - _five_ large sausages were heaped on the plate along with a soft bread roll, a chunk of cheese and a sliced pear. He lay the tray on the desk and waited for Arthur to put down his quill and set aside the report he'd been working on. "Here you go, that should hold you until lunch," Merlin said, pushing the tray in front of the Prince.

Arthur took an appreciative sniff, "Yes, perfect," he said, picking up his fork while the servant poured a cup of tea for him.

"I'll go and get the bath ready now," Merlin said swallowing a yawn and scrubbing at his tired eyes. "Or do you want me to take care of that first?" he asked, cocking his head towards the dirty pile of weapons.

Arthur frowned and leaned forward, peering intently at his servant. "Merlin, are you all right?" he asked.

Merlin's eyes widened, surprised to hear the Prince's concern. "Yeah, just starting to feel like I was up all night," he said with a smile.

"Yes, that, and also… I did not realize that Sir Derrick had hit you so hard," Arthur said, gesturing at Merlin's cheek. "You are going to need Gaius to put some salve or something on that."

The servant reached up and winced when he touched the sore spot. He could feel the heat of the bruise where Sir Derrick had struck him. "It's not so bad," he said.

Arthur put his fork down, still frowning. "Once I am finished my bath, I want you to go home and get that seen to and then get some rest. I won't need you until lunch."

"Really?" Merlin asked, not quite believing that he'd been given almost an entire morning off.

"Yes,really, _Mer_ lin," Arthur answered, shaking his head fondly at his servant. "Now go and get started so you can get finished and then to bed. I don't want you fainting in my soup at lunch."

* * *

Eager to take Arthur up on his generous offer of a morning of rest, Merlin hurried to fill the Prince's bath, and appreciated that Arthur decided not to linger for a long soak. Before long, Arthur was clean, dressed and almost ready to go back out.

"Merlin, where are my gauntlets?" the Prince asked, as the servant finished fastening the buckle of his belt. Arthur was looking at the armour and weapons that were still lying beside the fireplace where Merlin had dumped them when they'd first come into the room.

"Uh, did you have them on when we came back from the field?" the servant asked with a frown. "I definitely didn't bring _them_ ; just your _toys;_ but I don't remember you taking them off either," he admitted. Merlin yawned as he pushed aside the changing screen so he could see the pile more clearly.

Arthur snorted. " _Toys_ ," he muttered under his breath, but scratched his nose as he thought. "I took them off once I downed the last competitor," he said turning abruptly to look at his servant. "You must have forgotten to collect them."

Merlin stopped what he was doing. " _I_ forgot?" he spluttered. "You were at the other end of the field, and I already had an armful of all of your other stuff! How was I supposed to even notice that you'd left them there?" He sighed and shook his head when Arthur only smirked. "Fine, I'll go and fetch them for you as soon as I've finished putting the bath things away."

"No, I will go myself, Merlin," Arthur answered, dropping his teasing tone. "I've already given you your orders for the morning and I expect them to be obeyed. Finish what you are doing, and then go and get some sleep."

Merlin frowned, "But Arthur, I've still got all of the weapons to clean. You were in and out of the bath so quickly that I did not get a chance to even _start_ on them, and they should not be left until the afternoon."

"Perhaps not," Arthur answered, "but they _shall_ be left this once. I won't be needing them; I've told you – I will be in the Council chambers all morning."

Merlin looked doubtful, but Arthur did not give him a chance to answer.

"Look, I was not kidding when I mentioned fainting in the soup," Arthur insisted. "You may not think I notice, but I do, and I _know_ how hard you have been working over the last several days."

"But… _everybody_ has been busy…all of the servants…" Merlin responded.

Arthur cut him off, shaking his head fondly, "Yes, but most of _them_ don't have duties for two masters, _three_ if you include what the Steward is having you do to prepare for the tournament, nor do they work as a servant all day and a physician all night. Everybody has a breaking point, Merlin, and I want you to get some rest before you reach yours."

Merlin stared at the Prince, his tired mind not able to organize his thoughts enough to let him reply. "I…but …. I…." he stammered before hurrying to cover his mouth as a huge yawn threatened to escape him.

"Exactly," Arthur snickered. "Now, are we clear?"

"Y-yes Sire," Merlin answered, holding Arthur's eyes. "I will sleep until lunchtime. And … thank you."

* * *

Arthur left his chambers while Merlin was still emptying the bath, but not without a last reminder for the servant to obey his _orders._

Merlin smiled to himself, warmed by the Prince's concern although he did not see why Arthur had been so insistent. _Naturally_ he was a little bit tired from having been up all night, but it was nothing he was not used to. He stood up and put Arthur's sponge and soap cake away, but was unable to stop yet another yawn as he grabbed the Prince's damp towel and tossed it into the clothes basket. Okay, so maybe he was a _lot_ tired.

"But I can't just leave with the room in _this_ state," he muttered, looking around in dismay. Arthur's bed was still unmade, the nightclothes along with the Prince's gambeson, muddied trousers and tunic were strewn about the floor, the breakfast dishes were cluttered at the edge of his desk, with the quill, inkstand and parchments spread across the rest of it. "It won't take long to do most of this," he decided, "and _then_ I can go."

Merlin got to work. A flash of his eyes had the bed making itself while he picked up the dirty clothes. The young warlock realized at once that he had been reckless to use magic, so the rest of his chores were done without. There were simply too many people in the corridors and at this time of day Arthur's doors were left unbarred so that the servants in charge of bringing wood for the fire and changing the tapers and other such morning tasks could go about their work freely.

Even without his magic Merlin quickly took care of the mess and soon only the pile of muddied weapons and armour were left untouched. The servant picked up the clothes basket and set the dirty dishes on top of it, intending to drop them off on his way home. He took a few steps towards the door and then turned and looked around once again. The room was definitely in _much_ better shape than it had been earlier, but still Merlin scowled. Maybe he was being silly due to his fatigue but he just could not _bear_ the idea of leaving Arthur's mail and sword among the other things in the heap on the floor.

Merlin sighed and put his basket back down. Surely Arthur would not get angry if he just cleaned and polished those two things before he left for the morning. After all, it was still early and he would have plenty of time to sleep afterward. Finally, Merlin did the only thing he could; he went over and opened the bench near the fireplace, took out the polishing rags that Arthur let him store there for convenience, sat down on the floor and picked up Arthur's hauberk.

It did not take long for Merlin to have both the mail shirt and the sword gleaming. He set them aside and decided to start on Arthur's boots, although this time it was more because he was too tired to stand up and leave the room than because he still had any driving need to keep cleaning. The servant was halfway through brushing the dried dirt off of the first boot when the fatigue from the last few days caught up to him. The rhythmic motion coupled with the comforting warmth of the fire at his back began to lull him to sleep.

* * *

The candle had burnt down by less then half the width of a finger when the King walked unannounced into Arthur's chambers. Merlin had fallen so deeply into slumber within that short time that he did not notice the visitor until Uther prodded him none-too-gently with his boot.

"I _trust_ I am not disturbing you," the King snapped, causing Merlin to awaken with a start.

The servant dropped the boot which he had somehow still been holding and jumped to his feet, his hand brushing the mail shirt that he had set on the bench earlier and knocking it right onto the floor. "N-no, Sire. Of course not," he stammered, "I was just…"

"I can _see_ _exactly_ what you were doing," the King cut him off. "Now, where is my son?" he added, advancing on the nervous servant.

Merlin took a defensive step backward. "He's… he's gone to get his gauntlets, Sire," he said. "H-he left them at the training ground. This morning. Um ... after the demonstration."

Uther stepped towards the servant and leaned in. "You mean to tell me that _he_ is running around looking for gloves when he is _supposed_ to be at Council, and that his _servant_ is _here_ _having a_ _nap_?" the King growled, each word louder than the last until he was almost shouting.

"I…yes, Sire," Merlin answered, shuffling back another few steps to get away from the King's wrath. The servant was beginning to panic; his breath was quickening and his heart was pounding so hard that he was sure the King could hear it. "I mean … well, he thought he had time enough before the meeting…"

Uther narrowed his eyes at the servant, and Merlin wished he knew what the man was going to do. He even had a brief and irrational moment of fear wondering if the King could _execute_ him for falling asleep on the job, and knew it was pointless to try to explain the reasons why he _had_ done so.

"You may count yourself lucky that Arthur is right," Uther said coldly. "Otherwise I would be sacking you on the spot."

Merlin's eyes and mouth flew open, and the blood drained from his face. "But…" was all he managed to choke out, his panic growing.

"And I may yet do so," the King threatened, "But let us see if spending the rest of the morning in the stocks will help you to stay awake." He glared at Merlin, adding, "I suggest that you use the time to reflect on how to properly serve a Prince of Camelot."

Merlin bowed his head in resignation. "Yes, Sire," he said.

* * *

The unhappy servant sat in front of Gaius not long after the midday bells had rung. Once he had been released from the stocks, he had rushed to his chambers to wash up and change his clothes, hoping to get straight back to work. Unfortunately, Gaius had taken one look at the state of his cheek and forced him to stay and have it looked after.

"Hold still, Merlin," said the elderly physician catching hold of his ward's hand and pushing it down and away from the bruising. "I'm not finished with you yet."

"I could have done this… _ow! Not so hard_! ... myself," Merlin complained as Gaius spread some sort of green goop on his face. "I don't even think I need it; it hardly hurts."

Gaius chuckled but did not stop his ministrations. For all of his magical powers and his great destiny, Merlin was still very young and occasionally the little boy inside him made an appearance. The old man sobered and continued more gently, for he also knew that those moments were rare and always due to situations of great fatigue, or illness or worry. "Almost done, Merlin," he said, finishing his work with a few last strokes.

"There, now stay put while I pour you a cup of tea," the physician said, as he bustled over to where he already had a pot of water bubbling over a flame. "And I will get you a dose of headache remedy," he added, reaching for a bottle of viscous, brown liquid on the lowest shelf, just above the work table.

"Thanks, Gaius," Merlin said gratefully, "But how did you know I had a headache?"

Gaius chuckled again. "A physician's instinct," he answered with a smile, setting the cup and bottle down in front of his ward, along with a plate of bread and cheese. "That and the fact that you were as white as a ghost when you stumbled in, at least in those places where you were not covered in rotten vegetables, and you had your eyes half closed in pain and were pressing your temples like you were trying to keep your head together. It was reasonably short leap of intuition." He watched Merlin and frowned when the young man downed the foul-tasting remedy without even a grimace. "Can you take any time to rest?" he asked.

"No, I'm afraid not," the servant answered. "I was meant to bring Arthur his lunch, and I'm already late."

Gaius could only shake his head in consternation as Merlin tried to hurry through his own snack.

Just as the warlock was finishing his last few bites, someone knocked loudly at the door, and a knight in the colours of Gawant stepped into the room. "Are you Gaius?" the man asked.

"I am," the physician answered, "Do you have need of my services?"

The knight quickly crossed the large room to join Gaius near the table where Merlin was still sitting. "Yes," he said. "My liege Lord Branok took a fall as we were riding to Camelot. We think he may have broken his ankle."

Gaius glanced towards Merlin. Lord Branok was a good friend of Uther's and was well known and liked in Camelot. Merlin had attended him on his last visit and had enjoyed the man's wit and kindness.

"I was charged with riding on ahead so that you may prepare for his arrival," the knight continued. "The rest of the men are moving slowly and should arrive at late afternoon. We have wrapped my Lord's ankle, and he was in good spirits and still able to sit his horse when I left them, but naturally he is in pain."

"Merlin, perhaps Prince Arthur would spare you to help me when they arrive," Gaius said, turning to his ward.

Merlin stood to join the other men, "I'm sure he will insist," he said. "Especially when he knows it is for Lord Branok."

* * *

"Here you are, I'm sorry I'm so late, but I got … held up," Merlin apologized, as he set the lunch tray down in front of Arthur.

The Prince put down his quill and looked up at his servant with a smirk. "Oh, is that right?" he asked. "I've heard a rumour that you were out collecting vegetables for my table?"

Merlin rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Something like that," he answered with a smile. "And if you don't mind, I want to avoid doing the same thing again for your dinner, so I will just finish up the rest of the polishing in case your father decides to make another visit." Once he had poured Arthur a cup of wine, the servant headed over to where the dirty pile was still waiting for him, grabbed his cleaning cloth and sat down on the floor to get to work.

Arthur turned around to study the young man for a moment. "I know you must not have gotten the sleep you were supposed to, but you still look a bit better than you did this morning," he said.

"Yeah, I do feel a lot better. Gaius made sure of it," Merlin admitted, looking up from the shine he was putting on Arthur's boot. He started to bow his head over his work once more, but stopped after one rub, looking back up at the Prince. "Arthur, did you know that Lord Branok was injured on the way to Camelot?"

Arthur's eyes widened, "No, I had not heard. We were expecting him to arrive within the next few days. He is always early for a tournament so he and my father can catch up on old times." The Prince frowned, "How did you hear about it? Is he badly hurt?"

"It's not life-threatening or anything," Merlin answered. "The knight who came to see Gaius thought he may have broken his ankle." The servant caught his tongue between his teeth as he rubbed at a particularly stubborn piece of mud, looking back up once he had removed it. "Gaius wanted me to help get him to the infirmary when he arrives, if that's alright."

"Yes, of course," answered Arthur, without hesitation.

"And once I've finished up in here, I thought I might ask the Steward if I could prepare a room for him on the main floor," Merlin continued. "He was meant to be quartered on the fourth, but that would be far too much climbing."

Arthur nodded his head. "That sounds like a good idea," he answered. "And before you ask, yes, I can do without you for the afternoon for such a good cause." He looked at the stack of reports on his desk, "Although…."

"Although what?" Merlin asked, following Arthur's gaze. "Did you need me to bring those somewhere?"

The Prince pursed his lips in thought for a moment, "N… no. Never mind. I am not quite finished with them yet."

"Arthur, are you sure?" Merlin asked, narrowing his eyes. "I can stay if you are going to need me. After all, it _is_ my job."

Arthur chuckled. "Yes, I am sure," he answered. "I would rather you make sure that Lord Branok is cared for properly." He picked up his quill and pulled the report he had been working on back towards himself. "If I finish before you are ready to leave, I _promise_ to let you bring them to my father," he added.

"Oh, well I feel _much_ better about it now," Merlin said with a laugh.

"Just make sure you are back in time to get me ready for dinner _,"_ Arthur said, smiling back at his servant. "I don't think I will last through another evening with our current guests; not without you bumbling around doing things I can laugh at you for in any case."

Merlin grinned, "I would not dare to let you down, Sire."

* * *

Uther strode down the corridor leading to his son's chambers. He had been expecting Arthur's servant to bring an important set of reports to the Council chambers before midafternoon, but it was now late afternoon, and still there had been no sign of the boy.

The King had been about to send a servant to collect the papers, but decided to pay a visit to Arthur instead. He reasoned that the quiet of Arthur's chambers would be more conducive to discussion, but also had to admit to himself that he wanted ensure that his son's servant had taken heed of his threat and was hard at work.

Uther narrowed his eyes. If not, Merlin would find himself with new masters by dinner time.

* * *

"Hello, Father," Arthur said, looking up from the report he was working on at Uther's entry into the room. "I assume you are here to review the reports?"

Uther nodded sternly. "Yes, I expected you to have sent them long before now," he said, frowning when he looked around to find that Arthur was the room's only occupant.

"I'm sorry I am late with them," Arthur apologized, "I still have two more to go through." He put down his quill and pulled out a parchment which had been set down apart from the rest of the pile of completed reports. "The numbers in the road construction statements from East Durwich did not match with what Lord Jarod proposed last fall. It took some time but I verified it twice, and have made a few annotations."

Uther frowned and came across the room and took the parchment that Arthur held out to him. "You are right," he said after looking through the Prince's notes. "They have ordered almost twice as much stone and wood as should have been needed."

"Yes, that was my conclusion too," Arthur said. "It may simply have been a mistake; I went back to check two of Lord Jarod's other statements, and did not see any other anomalies."

Uther handed the report back to Arthur. "I will have the clerk take a closer look, but you are probably right. Lord Jarod does not have a history of being underhanded in his dealings."

Arthur put the parchment back where he'd taken it, and picked up his quill again, uncertain of whether he should continue his work.

"I will wait here while you finish those," said Uther, gesturing at the parchment waiting for Arthur's attention.

As his son bent back over the reports, soon lost in concentration, Uther folded his arms and walked towards the window so not to disturb him. He scowled and looked around the room, confirming that Arthur's serving boy was not anywhere in sight. He was somewhat surprised not to find any signs of further laziness; the room was spotless, the armour and weapons that had been in a muddy pile at midmorning had been cleared away, and Arthur had a snack and a goblet of wine placed neatly beside him on the desk.

The King turned and almost asked his son where the servant had gotten to, but rapidly decided that the question could wait. A small part of him kept insisting that the answer was, in fact, beneath his notice, while another was feeling angry, sure that the boy was at the tavern or perhaps even _fishing_ again or other such nonsense.

Uther tightened his lips and turned towards the window. He was fed up with having to think about the boy. The King decided that as soon as Arthur was finished with the reports, he _would_ ask about the servant's whereabouts, and when Arthur confirmed Uther's suspicions, the boy would immediately be tracked down and handed over to Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald.

The King allowed himself a smile, glad that the vexing issue of Arthur's manservant was about to be put to rest once and for all. With his decision made, he turned to look out of the large windows in Arthur's chambers, happy for the chance to watch the daily bustle of his Kingdom for even a short time.

He almost groaned when the first thing he spied, heading towards the gates to the courtyard, was the very object of his contempt. The King's eyes flashed with anger and he watched as his son's servant turned back towards the castle entrance to wave a greeting to somebody who must have called out to him. Uther could not make out who the person was until the man stepped past the cart that had been blocking his view. He was surprised when he recognized his Steward, and leaned forward with interest, certain that the man must be about to reprimand the young servant. Surely it had been as Uther guessed and the boy had been shirking his duties.

The Steward made his way over to Merlin, and the King could see them talking animatedly. Merlin nodded his head several times, and pointed over towards the Eastern wing of the castle, making some gestures that the Steward obviously understood although Uther could not interpret. Finally, in answer to some question the Steward asked, Merlin cocked his head over towards the gate where he'd been heading before he had stopped.

Uther waited expectantly for the Steward to become angry and order Merlin back into the castle, but to the King's immense surprise, the man smiled broadly and clapped the servant on the shoulder with obvious approval before turning back and leaving the boy to continue on his way.

"Arthur, what is your manservant doing?" the King blurted out, causing Arthur to look up from where he was still working on the last report.

"Oh, is he out there?" the Prince answered, making a last note on his parchment and setting it aside. He put down his quill and pushed his chair out, before walking over to join his father at the window. "I guess Lord Branok must be arriving."

Uther turned to look at his son, wondering what connection there was between his injured friend and the young manservant, but his attention was drawn back to the window when Arthur said, 'Yes, there he is.' The King watched as the ailing noble rode slowly in through the gates, his knights surrounding him and watching his every move.

As soon as they came into the courtyard, Merlin jogged over and immediately took charge. Uther saw him consulting briefly with Lord Branok's knights before they sent him through to the noble. Merlin greeted the older man with a smile, and Uther was surprised to see his friend return it. Based on the way they were speaking to each other, it appeared as though the two were already acquainted and what was more, that Lord Branok had some sort of _affection_ for the boy.

Uther continued to watch as Merlin got down to business. He seemed to be asking for permission to take a look at the older man's ankle, and once it was granted the servant quickly and carefully removed the noble's boot and handed it over to one of the waiting knights. The boy unwrapped the bandages and studied Lord Branok's foot for a few moments; Uther could see the young man frown slightly as he moved closer to the man's horse, bending down and trying to get a closer look at the inner side of the ankle without causing the noble any undue pain.

Apparently satisfied with what he had seen, the servant straightened and stepped back. He said something to Lord Branok, who nodded with resignation, although Uther also saw him share a small smile with the serving boy.

Merlin turned back to the waiting knights, and beckoned at three of them to follow him as he led the injured noble's horse nearer to the castle steps. Once they had reached their destination, the servant directed two of the knights to help their Lord to dismount in a way that would not cause him to put any weight on the injured foot and after handing the horse's reins over to the third, Merlin trotted up the stairs after his charge.

"Do you want to take a look at the rest of the reports now, Father?" Arthur asked, startling the King who was still staring over at the now empty palace staircase, not quite certain of what he had just witnessed.

"Yes… of course," he answered, forcing his concentration back to what he had come to Arthur's chambers for in the first place.

As he followed his son back towards the desk, he thought back to what he had seen. Uther had been mistaken about the servant spending the afternoon in the tavern, of that there was no question. The King could also not deny that both his Steward and Lord Branok had favoured the boy. The Steward's reaction was especially confusing; the man was a _very_ strict disciplinarian with the household staff and Uther would have expected him to treat a servant of Merlin's lazy reputation with disdain even if the boy _had_ been working satisfactorily that particular afternoon.

Uther sighed. It looked like he would need to spend yet _more_ time paying attention to the servant's working habits before he would be able to make his decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Uther _finally_ has a teeny glimpse.


	4. Chapter 4

"There you go, My Lord," said Merlin, setting a goblet of wine along with a plate of bread and cheese on the table in Lord Branok's room just beside a vial of Gaius most effective pain-relieving draught. "You are to take that right after you eat," the servant explained.

After he'd helped Gaius to bind the noble's ankle, Merlin had happily volunteered to escort the man to his rooms. The physician did not want to risk his patient falling due to being unfamiliar with using crutches. The servant had also run down to the kitchen for the snack Gaius had ordered him to take with his medication.

"Thank you, my boy," Lord Branok said, reaching over to take the cheese. "My foot feels better already, just for having been fussed over."

Merlin smiled. The man certainly looked better than he had when Merlin had helped him into the infirmary; the lines of pain around his eyes had eased and colour had returned to his face. "I'm not surprised. Gaius is the best physician in Camelot," he said proudly. "But your ankle will feel even better once you've taken this draught. I can promise you that."

"I do not doubt it, young man," answered the Lord. "In fact, I'm quite certain that I will be able to attend dinner with the King tonight. He left an invitation, but I was worried I would have to decline."

"Oh, well I will make sure he gets the message," said Merlin. "But if you go, you need to promise to use those crutches like Gaius showed you. We don't want you falling and breaking the _other_ ankle, now do we?"

Lord Branok laughed, wincing when he moved the injured foot the wrong way. "No, we do _not_ ," he agreed. "I give you my word," he said solemnly, following up with a wink.

"Now, if you are settled, I'd better get going with Gaius' deliveries." Merlin said, picking up his bag from where it sat on the floor, pushed up against the leg of the table. "Someone will be in to collect your dishes shortly, and I'll be back with more of Gaius' pain medication once I've finished getting Arthur ready for the dinner. You can take it before you set out for the Great Hall."

* * *

Merlin's first destination after taking his leave of Lord Branok was Sir Robert's house so that he could talk to Lady Miriam and check up on her twins. He was pleased to find the young family doing well, and laughed when he spotted Sir Robert cooing proudly over a particularly large belch that his baby made when the wet nurse handed the child to him after a feeding.

Sir Robert was still so enthralled by his new sons that he had not even noticed Merlin coming into the house. He stayed oblivious even when his wife replaced the babe in his arms with the other newborn, so that she could give the first to Merlin. The knight's adoring gaze shifted immediately to the tiny face in the tightly swaddled bundle he'd just been handed, his finger reaching up to gently stroke the silky cheek.

It did not take very long for Merlin to check everything that Gaius had requested and to confirm that both babies were in good health. After having a word with the midwife to see if she had any concerns that she wanted to pass on to the physician, he left the happy new parents to their sons and headed back to the castle to continue on with the rest of his deliveries.

* * *

Merlin quickly finished distributing all manner of salves, tinctures, draughts and lozenges, first in the lower town and then on returning to the castle, to the guests' wing, the servants' quarters and even to the Steward, who had asked for a headache remedy for his wife.

Finally, all that remained were the medications destined for the nobles and knights who lived in the castle. Merlin had left this for last, since their living quarters were in the same wing as Arthur's chambers. This way, once he was finished he would be able to go straight to the Prince's room in order to get Arthur ready for the evening.

The servant hurried up the broad stairway which opened up into a wide landing with corridors leading towards the knights'quarters on one side and the Royal apartments on the other. It was later than he had expected; the light was getting dim and even as he climbed the last steps, another servant was already beginning to light the torches in the sconces all along the walls.

Merlin crossed the landing and put his bag down on the window ledge, reaching in to pull out the list that Gaius had given him. As he studied it, he could not help a snicker from escaping when he realized that virtually every remaining entry on it was for a bottle of Gaius' special extra-strength liniment and all of the bottles were destined for knights who were to compete in the tournament a few days later.

Merlin guessed that they had been training hard to prepare, and had found they were not _quite_ as fighting fit as they had supposed. The servant scanned the list again and was pleased to notice that none of the young knights under Arthur's command were on it, although he was not surprised. The Prince would not have stood for any of _his_ men to be in less than top condition, even though the months since the treaty with Mercier had been ratified had been relatively peaceful.

Sighing, Merlin put the list back into his bag. Apparently, there were a _lot_ of knights that had been neglecting their training, since his bag certainly seemed to be much fuller than was usual when he came to this wing. It was also _heavy,_ although he was not sure why he had only just noticed, given that more than half of the bottles had already been delivered.

The young warlock stifled a yawn as he hefted his bag onto his shoulder. He had barely had a chance to sit down since he'd left the room he shared with Gaius several hours earlier, and guessed that his sleepless night was simply catching up with him again. He sighed once more, checked that nobody was in the hallway, and turning towards the wall just in case, allowed a tiny thread of magic to lighten his pack. Hitching it a bit higher on his shoulder, he turned and began to walk down the corridor towards the unmarried knights' quarters.

* * *

Full darkness had fallen outside the castle by the time Merlin handed over the last bottle of liniment to a middle-aged knight who took it without a word, frowned and shut the door in the servant's face.

"You're welcome, my Lord," said Merlin to the closed door, loudly enough that the man on the other side would have heard it, although Merlin was not sure what good he expected it would do.

The servant walked a few steps towards where the torchlight was brightest along the wall, and stopped to consult his list in order to make sure he had not missed anything. Gaius always gave him extra doses of some of the more common remedies such as salves and headache cures, so not unexpectedly, his bag was not quite empty.

Just when the servant was about to put the list back in his bag having confirmed that he was indeed finished with his task, an unwelcome voice broke into his concentration.

"We've been looking for you," said Sir Derrick from where he and his brother stood just inside the entrance to the hallway.

* * *

Unknown to the three men, the King, who had been on his way to his son's quarters, had also caught sight of the two brothers and had wondered what they were up to. They had no business being in this wing of the castle and had no friends among the Camelot nobility as far as Uther knew.

The King was suspicious. His opinion of the men had waned substantially since they had arrived. None of their requests, such as the ridiculous fair they wished to hold in their lands, had been backed by any type of evidence as to the benefits, and their behaviour could only be described as sycophantic and cowardly.

When he saw them enter the corridor leading towards the knights' quarters, Uther decided follow the pair to question them about their business. He stopped when he heard them talking to someone who must have been just on the other side of the opening and, peering around the corner, was surprised to see that they were speaking with his son's manservant.

Uther narrowed his eyes in anger, wondering if they were using the boy to carry out some subterfuge. He stepped back so he was out of view again, and decided to listen to what they were planning. If the three were in some sort of collusion, he would banish all three from Camelot for life.

* * *

Merlin straightened and looked toward the brothers uncertainly. "You were looking for me?" he asked. "Why?" Like the King, the servant had no idea why the nobles were in the knights' wing of the castle; the visitors were housed in the part of the building on the other side of the courtyard. The way Sir Derrick was closing in on him did not bode well though.

"Well, yes," the knight replied. "We've had a spill in our quarters, an entire goblet of wine … such a waste," he sneered, "and we need someone to come and clean it up, don't we brother."

Lord Reginald smiled coldly, "Indeed we do. Your Steward told us he would send you to us, but we decided that we'd waited long enough and came to find you for ourselves."

Merlin took a step back away from the men and narrowed his eyes. He did not believe that the Steward had said any such thing. There was no way the man would assign him to such a trivial task, and definitely no good reason why the two nobles would come looking for him half the castle away.

"I don't think…" he began, shaking his head and taking another step back from Sir Derrick who had continued to advance on him. "I'm afraid you will have to ask one of the servants assigned to your wing," he continued carefully. "I'm just about to go to attend to my master. The _Prince_. I will not be finished with those duties until it is time for dinner to be served."

"We do not want another servant," Sir Derrick replied, grabbing Merlin's arm as the young man tried to back further away. "The Prince will have to wait. We intend to show you what it is like to serve _real_ men."

Merlin's eyes flew open, and hidden outside the corridor, the King's did too. The servant twisted and managed to throw off Sir Derrick's hold, using the man's surprise to put some distance between them. Unfortunately, he'd backed himself against the wall of a store room which jutted out from the wall, and with Lord Reginald advancing on him from the other direction, Merlin's escape route was cut off.

"Now, now, don't be coy," said Lord Reginald. "The King is going to sell you to us, did you not know?"

Merlin paled and tried to edge out from where he was cornered but Sir Derrick moved to block him.

"And he would not disagree with us testing the merchandise, now would he," said the knight moving in closer.

Merlin thought back to the looks of contempt that Uther had been sending his way over the past few days and wondered if they had indeed been discussing him. The King could not really 'sell' him, but if these nobles had offered to hire Merlin and Uther was so inclined, the King _could_ make it almost impossible for him to refuse.

Sir Derrick reached out in another attempt to grab Merlin's arm, but the servant pushed him back so forcefully that the man stumbled back and fell to the floor in an undignified heap. "I am a servant and not a _slave_ to be sold," Merlin shouted, his eyes flashing with anger. "And Arthur would never permit it. Even if he did, I would _quit_ before I ever set a foot into your chambers. Now leave me to get back to my duties!"

Lord Reginald grinned at the young servant's vehemence, and seemed amused that the boy had managed to knock his brother to the floor. "Derrick, this one needs to learn his place," the noble laughed, "And it is going to be _such_ a pleasure to teach it to him."

"Oh yes," Sir Derrick hissed, his fists clenched as he advanced on Merlin again after having risen back to his feet. He shared a lecherous grin with this brother before glaring at Merlin. "Believe me, boy, you will soon be learning some much better uses for that mouth than talking back to your betters."

Merlin gulped, feeling sickened by the things that the brothers seemed to have in mind for him. He considered using his magic to get away, but there was no way he could do it without being reported to the King. His eyes darted left and right looking for another opening while a logical part of his brain reasoned that they could not very well _drag_ him all the way to their quarters; he'd surely be able to escape their hold and dart down the other corridor to Arthur's chambers if they tried.

"His behaviour should not really surprise us," said Lord Reginald conversationally as his brother loomed threateningly over Merlin, studying him as though deciding how best to force the servant to accompany them back to their quarters. "Prince Arthur obviously does not use a strong enough hand on him, given what we have seen the boy get away with."

Sir Derrick snorted. "And if the Prince is incapable of making even a precocious serving boy follow his orders, I hate to think about what is in store for Camelot when he is our leader. _You_ did not hear what this servant dared to say to me on the field this morning, Reginald," he said, turning his head slightly so he could keep Merlin in his sights while talking to his brother. "And the Prince _defended_ him."

"I believe it, Derrick," Reginald said. "But I have no doubts that our plans for the tournament will show everyone just how unfit he is as a knight." When his brother chuckled, the noble continued, "Mind you, the King is no better. After all, he has seen firsthand the same laziness and misbehaviour as _we_ have all week, and yet he _still_ allows the boy to serve his son." He grinned menacingly at Merlin. "Although _that_ will not last for very much longer, I am certain," he said.

Merlin gritted his teeth and held back the magic that wanted to lash out and sweep the leering men from their feet. He had had enough of their threats, but an action like that in the middle of the knights' quarters would only land him in bigger trouble.

"At least we shall have _some_ compensation for this fruitless trip to Camelot," Sir Derrick continued, taking a step towards Merlin, while focussing his attention on his brother. "The King is willing to negotiate with us about _servants._ It is unfortunate that he has not the wisdom to heed our counsel on matters of far more importance - such as our insights on how best to improve the prosperity of our estates." Both brothers were still bitter over Uther's refusal to grant permission for the fair they had requested.

Merlin's anger finally peaked at the insults to Uther and, more importantly, to Arthur. "That is your _King_ you are talking about!" the servant hissed, his hands clenched tightly into fists and crumpling the parchment he still held, his nostrils flaring. Even though Merlin did not appreciate Uther's strict belief that bloodlines determined a man's capacity for honour nor, of course his psychosis against magic users, the servant could still see that the man was a good ruler, in his way. After all, Camelot was prosperous and relatively peaceful within its borders.

From what Merlin had learned of them, _these_ particularnobles had less grounds than most for criticising their King and it was almost laughable that they believed their silly, or so Arthur had said, ideas were worthy of his consideration. "You should show some _respect!"_ he spat.

Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald both narrowed their eyes at the sudden and unexpectedly heated rejoinder from the young, scrawny and presumably weak servant and Derrick halted his advance momentarily, but Merlin's temper had not subsided even yet.

"And you _dare_ to insult Prince Arthur!" the young servant seethed. "He is worth _ten_ of you. From what I saw, _you_ were bested by a muddy field and Arthur did not even need to lift his sword against you," he said, glaring at Sir Derrick. " _Hardly_ the sort of men that our King would want to accept advice from on the running of his kingdom. And as for Ar… Prince Arthur, he does not haveto _order_ me to do anything. I do what he asks willingly because he is a great knight and will be a great King someday."

* * *

Uther shook his head from where he still stood out of sight near the entry to the corridor. The boy was loyal and, he had to admit, right on all accounts. However, he doubted that Sir Derrick would agree, and Uther could guess how the boy's conversation was certain to end.

A loud "thud," marked the sound of something – hand or foot, Uther could not tell, connecting with tender flesh, and that, along with the inevitable grunt of pain following immediately afterward, proved the King right.

* * *

"You have just earned yourself a _very_ difficult initiation into our household once the King hands you over to us," Lord Reginald snarled at the servant who was pinned against the wall by his brother. "And we _could_ have made it so easy and pleasant for you."

Sir Derrick gave Merlin another hard punch to the abdomen, causing the servant to drop his bag with a crackle of shattering glass bottles as he doubled over and sank to the floor, clutching his midsection in pain. The glaring knight swept the bag out of the way with his foot and then drove his boot into Merlin's side, knocking him over and making him bite his lips to keep from crying out.

"And _I_ will not need to order you to do anything either," the knight growled at the prone servant. "You will _jump_ to do what Iask, and just as willingly as you do for the Prince, because if you do not…" he threatened, not needing to finish the sentence as the meaning was perfectly clear.

The two brothers shared a predatory look as they watched Merlin struggle back to a sitting position and lean against the wall for support, glaring at them in outrage.

Lord Reginald came forward a step, a false, conciliatory smile pasted on his face. "However, naturally, if you agree to come with us to our chambers in accordance with your original orders," the noble purred, as if it were only reasonable and he was about to do Merlin a great favour, "to … clean up the spilled wine…, then I am willing to forget your insolence as if it had never happened," he continued.

Merlin's brows furrowed in anger. "I would not agree even if the King himself were here to command it," the servant snapped back fiercely, making a cry of pain when Sir Derrick grabbed his arm roughly and started to haul him upwards.

Merlin was confident that he could talk his way out of any permanent reassignment to the lecherous nobles, and would follow through on his threat to quit, if not. But he also knew that if Uther personally handed him over to the brothers, he may not be able to do so right away and he desperately wanted to avoid spending any time alone with them in their quarters. He only hoped he had not just increased that likelihood.

"Never mind, Derrick," said Reginald, as though satisfied, or even _happy_ with Merlin's refusal. He watched his brother release the young man, who sank back to the floor nursing his arm.

Taking a few steps towards the servant, the nobleman leaned in so close that he was almost face to face with the boy. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," he said, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "You have refused a direct order from a noble," he said, "and that was not very wise, was it?"

When all he got from Merlin was a defiant glare, Lord Reginald straightened and turned to his brother. "Well then Derrick, I think this idiot has now provided us with everything that we need. Even our King will not fail to see that our proposal to deal with him is warranted."

Merlin's heart plummeted at hearing the words. He had no idea what the 'proposal' was, but it would not end well for him. Of that he was certain.

"You had better go home and pack, boy," sneered Lord Reginald. "I'd say you will be ours before morning, and make no mistake, after we've got you, we shall not be letting you out of our rooms until we leave Camelot."

* * *

The King moved back into a small recessed opening in the wall close to where he stood, and waited until the two nobles strode past and headed for the stairs. The brothers did not notice him, and Uther felt a bit foolish for _hiding_ and for being glad that they had not caught him listening in to their 'conversation' with his son's manservant.

He _could_ have had them punished for publicly insulting their King and their Prince. He _could_ also have had the servant punished for arguing with the nobles and refusing to accede to their direct demands. The latter would have provided the King with the exact opportunity he had been looking for to get rid of the serving boy. He did neither.

Uther waited until the two brothers had reached the bottom of the stairs before peering around the corner to see that the young servant had already picked himself up off the floor. However, rather than standing there in frightened shock, as the King had expected, or at very least clutching teary-eyed where one of the vicious sounding blows had landed, the manservant was hard at work. He was evidently more concerned about the glass vials that had fallen from his satchel and broken during the beating than with any injury he had taken.

Uther watched as the scowling servant took a cloth that had been in his bag, gave his head a shake of dismay and knelt down to begin meticulously gathering all of the shards that were scattered about the floor.

Uther had to admit to himself that he was no longer at all inclined to give to the boy to Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald. He had well understood what they intended for Merlin, and although what a master required of his servants was nobody's business except his own, Uther did not condone forcing such duties on unwilling participants. He was also surprised at how reluctant he was to put Arthur's servant into such a situation, but then again there was evidence beginning to rack up that Merlin was more … just _more_ than Uther had given him credit for.

No, the King decided that he would continue with his original plan and observe Merlin for a few more days to see if he still wanted to reassign the boy. He still had doubts about the servant's apparent laziness and incompetence that needed to be set aside.

The King watched the boy for a few more moments. If Uther _did_ decide that Merlin was not fit to be Arthur's manservant, he wondered if perhaps Lord Branok may like to take him on. It would be a good opportunity to have the boy sent away without anyone questioning his judgement, and Uther could not prevent a small smile from escaping when he pictured the looks on Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald's faces if he were to make the offer to his friend in their hearing.

Knowing that the boy would soon be finished cleaning up the broken glass and would likely be heading to his son's chambers right afterward, Uther decided he'd best continue on his own way there. He was curious to see what the servant would say to Arthur about his misadventure with the brothers and imagined that the boy would give his son quite an earful of complaints. However, Uther admitted that in this case it would be quite justified.

* * *

"Hello Father," said Arthur looking up when Uther entered his chambers a short time later. "I did not expect to see you until dinner." The Prince had just returned to his rooms from a training session. He was standing beside the bench near his fireplace removing his gauntlets and setting them beside the helmet and mace he had just deposited there. He ran his fingers through his sweaty hair, brushing it out of his eyes before crossing over to where a towel hung over his changing screen. Pulling it down and wiping the perspiration from his face, he turned to face his father. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked.

The King stifled his smile of pride at his son, replacing it with his usual stern countenance. After all, it would not do to stoke the young man's vanity. Arthur was a fine knight and took both his duties as a soldier and as a leader of men very seriously. Uther knew that his son was spending every spare moment in preparing himself and his men for the coming tournament, and the King was certain that the victor would emerge from within the group, with Arthur himself being the most likely to merit the prize. The Prince was also proving his intelligence and understanding of the art of ruling a kingdom, hence the reason for Uther's late afternoon visit.

"I wanted to let you know firsthand that you were right about Lord Jarod's statements, Arthur," the King said, pulling out a rolled parchment that he had brought with him and holding it out to his son. "I had the clerk look into it, and you were also right about it being a simple mistake," he added. "Apparently, the same order had been entered into the ledger twice; once by the clerk and again later in the same day by the person who filled in for him when he took ill for a few days last month."

Arthur nodded and took the scroll, unrolling it so he could see the adjusted numbers. "That is a relief," he said. "I would have hated to think Lord Jarod was trying to deceive us."

"I would like you to verify that this explains the mismatch you found, and also to update your annotations," Uther said once the Prince had looked back up from his scrutiny of the report. "And while you are doing so, I will take a look at your antechamber," he added. "I think it is time we considered turning it into a private office for you, now that you are taking a more active role in administering the Kingdom."

"What, right now?" Arthur asked giving his father a dubious look.

Uther simply raised his eyebrows in a response that would have made Gaius proud, and smiled when his son sighed and headed over toward his desk.

"I suppose there is enough time before I must get dressed for dinner," Arthur agreed reluctantly, settling himself in his chair and picking up his quill. "Although Merlin could arrive at any moment."

Uther did not bother to make any comment, instead leaving his son to his work and hurrying - no, striding purposefully - towards the antechamber. Once inside, he shook his head and gave a rather un-kinglike chuckle. He had _indeed_ hurried, and could not deny that he had only decided to inspect the room rather than simply leaving the reports with Arthur because he realized it gave him a perfect place to hide and indulge in more eavesdropping. He also admitted to himself that he had absolutely no idea why he was so keen to hear the young servant's upcoming interactions with his son, although Uther reasoned that what he learned _would_ be relevant to proving or disproving the whole question about the laziness.

The King had barely found himself a position from which he could not only hear, but see the activities in the main room when he heard his son greet the young servant.

* * *

"Merlin, I was not sure if you would be back in time to help me get ready for dinner," Arthur called out to the young man who had just entered the room.

Merlin stopped for a moment and smiled at Arthur, oblivious to the King who watched his every move through the crack in the doorway. "It did not take Gaius and me as long as we'd expected to see to Lord Branok," he explained. "And since I knew you were expecting me to be late anyway, I offered to take care of Gaius' deliveries for him. He had a lot more bottles than usual sitting there and I did not think you would mind." Merlin frowned and looked up at Arthur. "You don't, do you?" he asked uncertainly.

Arthur laughed, "Mind that you helped, Gaius?" he asked. "No, of course not. But now that you are here, I would like you to pour me a bath if you think we will have time."

Merlin crossed the room, set his bag down near the fireplace and turned back towards the Prince again. "Yes, I think we need to _make_ the time," he said, with a critical glare at Arthur's disheveled and muddy state which was belied by the twinkle in his eye. " _Because,_ after the good impression you made waving around swords and other weapon-y things this morning, it would not do to have you going to dinner looking like _that_."

"Merlin, that could _almost_ be taken as a compliment," Arthur said and Uther could practically hear the grin on his face. "I _think."_

"Oh, I'm sorry about that, I won't let it happen again," answered the servant with a chuckle, as he joined Arthur beside the desk. "And don't worry about the time," he said more seriously. "I ran into George on the way over here and he is already on the way to fetch the bathwater."

Merlin gave a smile as he remembered the diligent servant's eagerness at the opportunity to do something for his Prince, and guessed that George would happily have brought the water a handful at a time if it had been asked.

"Good," said Arthur with some relief. "I'm just finishing up some changes to a report for my father, but I will be finished with it by the time you have everything set out for me."

Merlin started to turn away, but stopped and slowly turned back towards the Prince. "Arthur…" he began hesitantly. "Those brothers…"

From inside the antechamber Uther shifted slightly, cocking his head to better hear what the boy said, certain that it would be the flood of complaints he had been expecting.

"I … heard them talking," Merlin said. "You need to be careful, I think they intend to cheat during the tournament, though I do not know what they have in mind."

"Ah, well that would not surprise me in the least," answered Arthur, putting down his quill and turning in his chair to face his servant. "The knight ... Darren?"

"Sir _Derrick_ ," Merlin offered, unable to hide a shudder at the name.

Arthur noticed the reaction and frowned in concern, though Merlin did not notice. " _Derrick,"_ the Prince corrected himself. "I definitely would not put it past him."

"And, I know that you can't really go to the King about it or anything, since he would not take my word over theirs, so…" Merlin paused and took a couple of deep breaths before forcing himself to continue. "When I, uh…, ran into them in the hallway just before coming over here, they wanted me to do something for them but I told them I couldn't since I had to come here."

Merlin scrunched his eyes closed, probably without realizing he did so, and took another breath before blurting out in a rush, "But if you need me to do it, I will go to their room and use that as an excuse to try and find out more about what they are up to…if you want…" He opened his eyes and looked intently at the Prince, trying but failing to hide his reluctance to do anything of the sort.

Arthur studied his servant. He had not missed the slight tremor in Merlin's hands as he had made his offer, nor how pale the young man had become. The Prince had a good idea of what it was the visiting nobles had wanted with the servant.

"No, Merlin," Arthur answered softly. "I would rather have you here attending to me. To be honest, I'm not very worried about it. I don't think either of them have the intelligence to cause a real threat, and I also do not think Sir Derrick can possibly make it past the first round or two." Arthur smiled at Merlin's obvious relief. "But I do thank you for bringing their plans to my attention. I'll keep an eye open for any type of foul play from them," he continued.

Merlin's smile of relief spread to his entire body. His shoulders relaxed, the lines of worry around his mouth and eyes faded away and his breathing, which had quickened due to his anxiety in spite of his best efforts to hide it, returned to normal. "Well then, I'll leave you to your report and get back to work," he said.

Just as his servant was about to turn away, Arthur noticed that there was a bloodied cloth tied around the index finger of his right hand. "Merlin, what have you done to yourself now?" the Prince cried out.

Merlin looked down sharply at the injury as though he'd forgotten about it. "Oh, you know me," he answered with a smile. "Dropped my satchel in the hall and broke a few vials of medicine. I cut myself as I was cleaning it up," he explained, slowly dropping his hand and manoeuvering it just behind his back to hide it from sight. "Gaius is going to _kill_ me!"

"Maybe so, but I think you need to get him to take a look at it before he does," Arthur said with a frown. Judging by the amount of blood, the gash must have been quite deep. "I don't want you bleeding all over my floor," he added to cover his concern.

Merlin chuckled. "It's not that bad," he said, hesitantly bringing the wrapped digit back up for a closer look, as though to convince himself as much as Arthur. "But yeah, I promise I will show him. I won't be able to tie on a proper bandage by myself anyway," he said.

"And _when_ do you intend to do that?" Arthur asked as Merlin dropped his hand and once again tried to head towards the wardrobe.

Merlin turned back toward him. "When?" he asked, a little confused by the Prince's insistence.

Arthur rolled his eyes.

"I was going to do it after I'd gotten you ready for dinner," Merlin said, and Uther could hear amused fondness in the boy's voice. "I need to grab a bite to eat before I attend you there, anyway. After all, with all of the toasts there will surely be in honour of your knightly prowess, and with you wanting to bask in the glory of your victories of this morning and milk it for all it is worth, it's certain to be a late night." The servant's smile broadened. "I would not want to become light headed from hunger and have people think I am swooning like a girl at your magnificence."

* * *

Out of sight in Arthur's antechamber, Uther could barely suppress a snicker of amusement. The boy's pride in his master was unmistakable, and yet the words were witty, and judging by Arthur's snort of laughter, appreciated and even encouraged. The King could also sense that this type of teasing would help to keep his son's ego in check; an old problem that Uther suddenly realized had started to improve only since Merlin had become his manservant.

Uther's brow furrowed. The dark-haired servant had given him a lot more to think about. The boy had not only held back any details of his mistreatment by Lord Reginald and his brother, but had even, astonishingly, offered to put himself at a risk in order to protect Arthur from them. That was an act both brave and loyal, and reminded the King how he had come to hire the boy in the first place. Uther found himself uncharacteristically glad that his son had not taken Merlin up on his suggestion to attend to them in their chambers.

There was also yet more evidence that contradicted the boy's reputation for laziness. He certainly had not been idle that afternoon in any case, and had seemingly volunteered for _additional_ duties, so it was not just a matter of grudgingly doing as he'd been asked either.

Uther reflected for a few moments on the question of 'competence'. It was impossible to deny that the boy was clumsy; _that_ had long been apparent. But the King could not recall seeing other signs that the servant provided his son with anything less than adequate or even _excellent_ care. Merlin seemed to be thinking ahead to ensure Arthur had what he needed in a timely fashion, and obviously took pride in ensuring his Master's wellbeing.

The King scratched his head in thought. He was starting to understand why Arthur wanted to keep the boy around. Uther scowled. Even what he had considered to be unacceptable cheekiness and sass from the servant seemed to serve a purpose. He should probably make a show of reminding the young men that such familiarity must be kept private, but, the King decided, he no longer wished to forbid it.

Uther shifted his concentration back to the young men in the main chambers, chuckling inwardly at the realization that he had just decided Merlin's fate. Even though the King was not entirely convinced that the boy was not inclined to laziness on occasion, the servant's job was quite safe for the time being.

* * *

"And _I_ would not want you swooning like a girl either," Arthur said in response to his servant's teasing. "So, to prevent the likelihood of that being due to _blood loss_ , you are excused to take care of that finger," he said lightly, although there was no mistaking that it was a command. "Now."

Merlin held his gaze for a moment, but realized that Arthur was quite serious. The servant scowled and gave a slight shake of his head. "I … alright, I will go, but just give me a few moments to at _least_ set out your clothes for the evening and put up your changing screen," he insisted.

"Merlin…" Arthur warned, but his servant was already hurrying towards the wardrobe. "But you _will_ let George fill that bath," the Prince continued. "And I can take care of the rest by myself."

"I'm not so sure about that," came the cheeky answer, muffled from somewhere inside Arthur's collection of dress shirts. It was followed quickly by a showy sigh, "But, yes. I promise."

* * *

Uther straightened and let out a relieved breath, glad that the servant would be shortly be leaving. The King had learned what he needed to know about the boy, and had been looking for an excuse to leave the room before Arthur had a chance to get suspicious.

After all, a King could only spend _so_ long in an antechamber assessing its fitness as an office. His eyes shot open with a pang of alarm as he realized that he had not actually _done_ that yet, and he urgently began looking around the room. No doubt Arthur would be expecting his findings and so he'd best make sure he had a recommendation ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was almost mean enough to leave this chapter with a cliffhanger at the point where Reginald told Merlin to pack, but Uther insisted that I go a bit further to show that he is not all bad.


	5. Chapter 5

Uther sat at his usual place at the head of the large table in the Great Hall, enjoying a tankard of the rich, strong mead that one of the visiting Lords had brought from his lands for the King's appraisal. He swallowed in appreciation as he looked around the room. There were more visitors in the hall this night than in previous days, and the room was already full of noisy babble, even though not many of the guests to be seated at the head table had taken their places yet. It was rare that nobody was vying for Uther's attention, and he was content for the opportunity to sit and simply watch people arrive.

Arthur was standing near the window with his own cup of mead, deep in conversation with a group of the knights he had bested that morning. His son was smiling while one of the knights in the group demonstrated some sort of swordsmanship manoeuvre. He jabbed his right arm out and proceeded to twirl in a circle before stopping and rolling his eyes, causing the rest of the men to burst out in laughter. Uther smiled, glad that his son had won not only the respect of the men he had fought that morning but also their friendship, based on the easy camaraderie that was emanating from the group.

Letting his gaze wander further to the right, the King frowned. That camaraderie obviously did not include the brothers Reginald and Derrick. Uther could see them standing near the wall, eyes narrowed and watching Arthur and the rest of the knights in the group with open disdain. From time to time they looked over towards the door, and the King guessed that they were waiting for his son's manservant to arrive. Uther had noticed that Merlin was not yet with Arthur, although he was not surprised since he knew the boy had had some things to attend to before he would be able to come to the feast.

* * *

A slight commotion at the door caught Uther's attention and the King smiled as he watched Sir Robert entering the room to back slaps and whistles from many of his peers. The young man looked tired and a little bit befuddled, but the grin on his face as he responded to their teasing comments spoke clearly of his happiness.

Gradually Robert made his way through the well-wishers to where Uther was seated and made the customary bow of respect to the King.

"I understand congratulations are in order," Uther said to the smiling knight after acknowledging the greeting. "And that you have made a fine contribution to the future defenses of Camelot," he added, trying to appear serious but unable to prevent the quirking of his lips.

Sir Robert laughed, seeing right through him. "Yes indeed, Sire. In fact, I have arranged a fitting for armour next week," he countered.

"No doubt," Uther responded with a chuckle. "Ah, well, that day will come sooner than you ever would expect," he added a touch wistfully, glancing briefly over towards where Arthur was still mingling with the guests.

"And how is the Lady Miriam?" he asked, bringing his attention back to the knight.

"She is well, Sire," said Sir Robert. "She was fussing over the babes when I left; could not even spare me as much as a glance." He leaned in and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "Some of her friends were coming over to dote upon our newborn sons, and I think she was glad to get rid of me so they could talk unhindered about bonnets and cradles and such."

Uther nodded, "You are better off here then," he said. "Assuredly. Where we can instead discuss knightly subjects such as the merits of various new advances in the design of mail helmets and the quality of our local bedroll fabricator's wares for use when out on campaign."

Sir Robert's eyes widened in surprise at hearing the King _jesting_ and the young knight began to laugh.

Uther smiled at the reaction. "In truth, I am happy to hear that Miriam is recovered enough to receive guests so soon after her confinement," he continued. "And that you are also back to your usual good humour. Rumour has it that you reduced one of your sons' nursemaids to tears with a complaint about … a wrinkle in the swaddling … I think it was?"

"Ah… _that_ ," answered Sir Robert in obvious embarrassment. "Yes, I have since decided, based on the … rather loud … advice of my wife that it would be better for all concerned if I leave the care of the children to her and to our very capable nurses."

Uther smirked, "So there is some truth to it then?"

" Yes. I'm not afraid to admit it, and I now know with complete _certainty_ that walking into a battle where all of the odds are stacked against a victory and where a painful death is all but assured, is much, _much_ less fearsome than waiting for the birth of one's children," said Sir Robert. "And unfortunately, both during the wait and in its immediate aftermath, I may have been somewhat … less reasonable … than is my usual nature."

"Ah," was all Uther managed to choke out before giving into his laughter.

Sir Robert looked around the room, stopping when his eyes fell on Arthur, who was still talking with a group of knights. "Which reminds me; I must both thank and apologize to your son's manservant."

" His _manservant_?" Uther asked, furrowing his brow with confusion. "Why ever do you need to talk to _him_ of all people?"

Sir Robert returned his regard to the King, having confirmed that the young servant was not yet present. "Merlin was with us all night acting on behalf of the Court Physician, Sire," he explained. "And I could not have asked for a more proficient and reassuring presence."

Uther nodded with sudden understanding. He knew that the servant was Gaius' ward and often helped out the elderly man, though he had not guessed that the young man's responsibilities included anything more than making and delivering medicines. He was _very_ surprised to learn that the physician trusted the young man with something as important as tending to the birth of a highly-placed nobleman's heirs.

The King pursed his lips in thought for a moment, deciding that it also explained Merlin's interactions with Lord Branok. The boy must have been acting in some sort of medical capacity when Uther had watched through Arthur's window.

He frowned as he had yet another realization. "Wait a moment, he stayed with you for the _entire_ _night_?" he asked, recalling how he had found the servant asleep in his son's chambers just that morning.

"Oh yes," Sir Robert nodded emphatically. "And as I said, I was not my usual generous and magnanimous self, but rather than becoming angry at me, Merlin kept both his patience and his smile right through to morning, and all the while taking excellent care of my wife and my sons."

The knight paused for a moment to think about the events of the previous night. "I did not even see him leave," he mused, "though the midwife told me that the sun was well up by the time he did so." He sighed, shaking his head with guilt, "And then I missed him once again when he came by in the afternoon to make sure all was still well with my wife and the babes. He must find me ungrateful for his help."

"I doubt he would have thought much about it," replied Uther, not sure why Sir Robert would worry about such a thing. "It _is_ his job, after all - to serve." But the King admitted to himself that Merlin was proving much more competent and diligent than he had thought, and he supposed that some sort of acknowledgement of the exceptional service would not be out of order.

"However, if you feel you need to thank him, you will have an opportunity later on," Uther said much less grudgingly than he would have thought possible even half a day earlier. "I believe he is simply late, with my son's full knowledge and approval of course."

Uther looked towards his son only to notice that Arthur was looking back at him, or more correctly, at Sir Robert. "And if I am not mistaken, my son seems to be vying for your attention," he told the knight, cocking his head towards the Prince. "I imagine he wishes to know when your boys will be ready to be taken on as pages," he added with a chuckle.

Robert followed his gesture, and soon afterward was granted leave from the King so that he could head over to join the Prince.

* * *

Once he was alone again, Uther took another swallow of mead, emptying his cup and setting it down. After spotting Sir Leon at the next table, discussing something with Geoffrey of Monmouth, he waved off the servant who had jumped forward to refill the cup. Both men were laughing, piquing Uther's curiosity since neither was particularly known for his sense of humour.

Uther decided he would investigate; the mead had already caused a pleasant buzz and he found he was in the mood for a story. He stood and made his way over to the two men, who rose to their feet when they saw the King joining them.

"Sire, Sir Geoffrey was just telling me of the hobbies of his youth," said Sir Leon with a grin. "I would never have taken him for a fisherman!"

"Oh yes," said Uther with a laugh at the memory. "He used to disappear for days on end, in quest of some sort of gigantic … perch? Was it not, Geoffrey? … Something rare that Gaius used to use in his medicines, in any case. I well recall how you used to come back to Camelot looking as if you had fought in a battle!"

Geoffrey chuckled and nodded enthusiastically, "Just so, Sire," he said. "Young Leon and I were discussing that very beast. And it _was_ a battle to land one, or what would have been the sport in it?"

"I was telling Geoffrey how I spotted one two days ago," added Sir Leon.

"I know you did, my boy; and very timely it was too," said the archivist, "Since yesterday I was in dire need of one of those medicines the King mentioned, and Gaius had some freshly made. Else no doubt I would be abed tonight instead of here with a good goblet of mead in my hand and waiting for some of cook's excellent stuffed pheasant."

Uther began laughing only to pause. "Wait, the fish was caught yesterday?" he asked, frowning at his sudden suspicion. "Sir Leon, did you catch it?"

Leon grinned, "No, I am _no_ fisherman, Sire," he answered. "I believe Gaius was going to send Merlin to do it," he said, adding "Arthur's manservant?" as he was unsure if the King would know the boy's name.

"Is that so?" asked Uther softly, almost to himself, his suspicion confirmed.

"Yes, Gaius told me the boy caught five _,"_ Geoffrey enthused. " _Five!_ I am surprised he is able to even stand today… though perhaps I am mistaken after all," the archivist said, scanning the room until he confirmed that Arthur was without his manservant. "I do not see him here."

Sir Leon shook his head, "No, he is about," said the knight. "I have seen him several times this afternoon. I believe he has been kept quite busy with all of the visitors in the castle." Leon also began to scan the room, stopping when he looked towards the door. "Ah, here he is now," he said as Merlin came into view, escorting Lord Branok into the room.

* * *

Uther watched as the servant helped his old friend over to the head table where he was to be seated beside the King's currently vacant chair. It was a slow and careful process, with Merlin scrutinizing every step that Lord Branok took and offering a steadying arm at the least sign of discomfort from the Lord.

Once the pair finally reached the table, Merlin took Lord Branok's crutches and leaned them securely against a nearby serving table before helping the nobleman get settled into his seat. After ensuring that the Lord was comfortable, the servant rushed to fetch him a goblet of wine, setting it on the table in front of him.

The two spoke for a few more moments before Lord Branok laughed and made a shooing motion, obviously meaning for Merlin to go and join Arthur.

The young servant smiled and Uther watched him fuss a little more; making a slight adjustment to the angle of the man's chair and moving the wine goblet a little bit closer to him, before he gave Lord Branok a last nod of respect and began to make his way over to where Arthur and Sir Robert were waiting for him.

* * *

"Ah, I should have guessed that Gaius would have him helping out Lord Branok," said Sir Leon, who still stood near Uther.

The King was surprised to notice that the Senior Knight and Sir Geoffrey were both apparently as captivated with the boy's activities, mundane as they were, as he was. He shook his head in bafflement, wondering how it had come about that watching a servant had become the evening's before-dinner entertainment.

Looking around the room he saw that they were not the only ones indulging themselves, either. Lord Branok also continued to watch the boy from where he sat, and from the other side of the hall the two brothers had spotted Merlin's entrance and begun to smirk.

Merlin seemed to have noticed this last, as his step faltered when he caught sight of the two, and he averted his eyes and quickened his pace towards Arthur just slightly.

Even the Steward, who stood attentively near the door from where the dinner would soon be brought in, looked at the boy with what certainly seemed to be pride.

* * *

"Merlin, it's about time you arrived," said Arthur as the servant reached him, allowing Merlin to put Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald out of his mind. "I thought perhaps Gaius had had to amputate your hand or something and I was beginning to reconcile myself to the thought that you would take _twice_ as long with your chores as you do now."

Merlin snorted, but otherwise completely ignored Arthur in favour of greeting Sir Robert along with Lady Morgana and Gwen, who had come over to congratulate the young knight on his new sons.

"Now, now, _Mer_ lin" said Arthur, "I insist on seeing the evidence that you let Gaius attend to your hand. I need to be sure you are capable of serving me in the manner to which I am accustomed," he added as pompously as he could, "… though in retrospect, since _that_ is abysmal, even if you _are_ one-handed I probably would not notice much of a change."

"Yes, Sire," said Merlin, rolling his eyes as he held up his freshly bandaged finger for inspection. "I even asked Gaius to stitch it in the shape of a dragon so it would match the embroidery on your cloak," he continued, completely unaware of the amused chuckle that the watching King quickly supressed. "I know you can't see it under the bandages, but at least _you_ will know just how seriously I take my job."

Uther missed any retort that his son might have made, since just then the Steward announced that everyone should take their seats. He did notice how Arthur clapped his hand fondly on the servant's shoulder and steered the young man towards the table.

* * *

"Branok, I am pleased to see you here tonight," the King said to his friend once he had taken his place at the head of the table. "I admit to being surprised when I received the message that you felt able to attend."

The noble shifted in his own seat and gave a slight wince which quickly gave way to a broad smile at Uther. "I am rather surprised myself," he admitted. "Especially when I consider my state not half a day ago." Lord Branok turned and dipped his head in greeting to Lady Morgana who had just taken her seat to his other side. "But your Physician and his young ward took excellent care of me, and so here I am," he said.

Morgana smiled back warmly at the man. The noble had been a friend of Gorlois', visiting her father's home frequently during her childhood. He had always acted as a kindly uncle towards her, and so held a cherished place in her heart. "I am glad to see you well," she said. "I was so worried when I heard of your accident. It was very lucky you were near to Camelot when it happened."

Lord Branok took her hand and gave it a kind pat. "Yes, it was lucky indeed," he said reassuringly before turning back to the King. "And I must thank you for moving my accommodations to the lower floor, Uther," he said. "I'm sure it was not easy for your Steward to find a place for me at the last moment, but it was much appreciated."

Uther frowned slightly. "Indeed…" he said slowly, the inflection making it unclear if the word was a meant to be a statement or a question. "I must admit… it was my understanding that he would only be able to arrange the change _tomorrow_. I am pleased to hear that I was mistaken."

"Oh, that was Merlin's doing," Morgana put in, cocking her head towards the other side of the table. The young servant was pouring a glass of wine for Arthur, showing a flash of dimples at something the Prince must have said to him. "Before you arrived this afternoon I heard him telling the Steward that he would clear out one of the rooms down the corridor from here."

"Well he has spoiled me since I have arrived, that is certain," Lord Branok chuckled, watching the young man. "Your son is fortunate to have him as a manservant," he added to Uther.

"Yes, he has been full of surprises," answered Uther shooting a glance at Merlin before returning to his conversation with his friend.

* * *

For a while, the King forgot about the young servant, concentrating instead on his meal and on catching up with Lord Branok. The noble from Gawant had not been in Camelot for over two years as he had been busy with his duties to Lord Godwyn, his King, so they had a lot to discuss.

However, as the dinner progressed, Uther could not fail to notice the predicament of Arthur's manservant. As was usual at this type of dinner, the young man was attending not only his son, but also the other nobles seated on that side of the head table. This included Sirs Leon, Robert and Geoffrey, but also Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald, who had somehow managed to convince the Steward to switch their seats so that they were closer to Arthur, and therefore Merlin, than they should have been.

The brothers called on the servant _far_ more often than should have been necessary. At one point Uther suspected they had even pinched the boy ... inappropriately … given the look of wide-eyed startlement on his face, followed by his glare of anger and his hurrying back to his place behind Arthur.

After that, Merlin had done his best to stay out of arms' reach of the men, though it was not always possible. When he was unsuccessful, there _always_ seemed to be some type of mishap; a slosh of wine, a dropped napkin, a piece of bread falling to the floor. The brothers then discreetly, or so they thought, glanced at the Uther to make sure he was noticing.

It was so obvious that they were intentionally making the young manservant look bad in front of the King that it was almost laughable. And even though Uther would normally never pay attention to a servant or care about his or her feelings, even he could tell that the torment, for that's the only thing it could be called, was having its effect on the boy, judging by his increasing pallor and the growing trembling in his hands.

Merlin also glanced anxiously towards the King once or twice, swallowing nervously when he saw Uther looking back at him.

Arthur was not oblivious to what the men were doing either, and even Leon and Lord Branok had noticed that something was not quite right. All three men glowered over at the brothers with increasing frequency, though naturally the two idiots were completely ignorant of the spectacle they were making of themselves.

Uther knew the two were setting the manservant up so they could make a case to the King, confident that Uther would agree wholeheartedly to whatever their 'proposal' was for getting the young man under their power. He suspected that they would make their final move soon, and he found himself looking forward to it. It would be very satisfying to put them in their place. Uther only hoped that they did whatever they had planned before either Arthur took matters into his own hands or Merlin made a mistake that would cause the other guests to support the brothers.

* * *

Just when things had escalated far enough that Uther had reluctantly decided he would need to call Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald out on their behaviour, Sir Derrick signaled to Merlin that the servant should bring him over a heaping helping of meat, gesturing that the boy should also put a ludicrous amount of sauce on it.

Uther put off his plans for the moment and instead watched from the corner of his eye to see what the knight was up to. Sure enough, just as Merlin was about to set the plate down, Lord Reginald raised his elbow, making it seem accidental of course, jostling the servant and knocking the plate right out of his hand. Sir Derrick made sure to angle himself so that the falling food would miss his lap and instead it headed on towards the floor, landing right on his boots.

The knight gave a completely contrived, loud and entirely unnecessary shout and leapt to his feet, causing all conversation in the room to come to a complete stop as everyone in the room tried to see what had caused the commotion.

* * *

With Merlin looking aghast at the mess on the floor, Uther heard a snort from a few seats away. "Sire, perhaps now would be a good time to act on our offer regarding this servant," Lord Reginald said, as reasonably as the man could muster. "I am sure you must be as embarrassed of his incompetence, laziness and clumsiness, and most especially of his disrespect, as we are on your behalf," he added.

Beside his brother, the King saw Sir Derrick staring at the dark-haired boy and licking his lips in anticipation, probably not realizing the telling lewdness of his reaction.

"Disrespect, you say?" Uther asked dangerously, although the grin that Derrick shared with his brother showed that they had no idea that the tone was aimed at them.

"Yes, Sire," Lord Reginald answered, believing he finally had the opening he had been looking for to clinch his argument. "Blatant. For example, just this afternoon the boy refused to obey my direct and reasonable orders."

He looked apologetically over at Arthur for a moment, "Forgive me, Sire, I had intended to bring it to your attention privately, but due to the circumstances I thought I had better not wait to tell the King of the situation." He turned back to Uther and went on sadly, "Yes, and earlier today my brother," he nodded towards Sir Derrick, "had to have words with him on exactly the subject of respecting his betters."

Uther noticed Merlin's eyes snap up, catching Lord Reginald's in dismay before dropping his gaze back to the floor with a sigh of resignation. The King glanced towards Arthur whose fists were clenched in outrage. The Prince had risen half out of his seat and looked like he was about to offer an argument in his servant's defence, but Uther held up his hand, silently ordering his son to keep his peace.

Scowling, the King turned back to Lord Reginald. "Is this true?" he asked, "and if it is, why would you still wish to have the boy in your employ? Perhaps I should simply sack him and send him back to the town he came from, so that nobody in Camelot need suffer from his deficiencies."

The two brothers shared a look of fear that Merlin may be put out of their reach. "Perhaps that would be prudent, Sire," answered Lord Reginald after a moment, "and I admit that I do have some misgivings about going forward with my offer to take him off your hands, but I think Derrick and I may have an idea which will please us all."

Uther indicated that the nobleman should continue, while also giving Arthur a piercing glare telling him to hold his tongue. The King was rather surprised that Arthur obeyed the silent order, but perhaps his son had a suspicion of what Uther was up to. Either that or, more likely, he was intending to wait and take care of his grievances out of the public eye, just as the brothers _should_ have done. Although the King was quite looking forward to putting the noblemen in their place, really, a feast with the King was not place to be discussing the foibles of _servants._

"Sire, I had been on the verge of rescinding my offer to hire the boy due to the offensive behaviour I have observed during the past day, culminating in the outrageous service we have all witnessed this evening, when I remembered how young Prince Arthur is," said Lord Reginald. "Perhaps he simply has not realized the extent to which his servant's behaviour is frowned upon in our noble circles." The man then had the gall to wave his hands in a gesture that was meant to include all of the assembled dinner guests, assuming that they would of course agree with him. "Or perhaps he has not yet had the servant long enough to teach him properly," he added.

Uther had to hide the quirk of his lips when he caught Arthur's justified outrage at the comment. He hoped his son could keep his anger in check for a while longer, though Uther had to admit he himself may not have had the ability were he in Arthur's place.

He also heard whispering around the hall, and knew that the vast majority of people present did not like to hear their Prince belittled, even over something as trivial as keeping a servant in check. Besides, as the King had come to learn over the last day, Merlin was also well respected in his own right.

For this reason, Uther was certain that Lord Reginald's words would in fact have caused him to lose the very support he had hoped to gain with them. Judging by the glares that Sirs Robert and Leon, in particular, were aiming at the visitors, Uther also guessed that he would not be the only one in the hall who would be pleased once he finally responded to the nobles as he'd been planning.

"Speak plainly of your intentions, Lord Reginald," the King commanded, trying to appear bored with the discussion, while needing to bring the noble quickly to his point. "I wish to return my attentions to my dinner."

"Yes, Sire," the Lord said, oblivious of the growing hostility against him. "Sir Derrick and I had cause to discuss the situation once our shock at the servant's disobedience earlier in the afternoon had worn off." He paused and nodded his head to acknowledge his brother who shook his head as though still dumbfounded by the event. "And we both felt that it was our duty to Arthur and yourself to revise our original offer somewhat."

The brothers had indeed discussed Merlin once they had reached their quarters that afternoon. The young man was not the compliant serving boy that they had expected – one who would have wordlessly accepted any order from his King, including a reassignment. Instead, rather excitingly, the servant had been rebellious and intelligent as well as exceeding loyal to Arthur. It did mean, however, that 'taking' him, almost as though he were a slave, would never work. They had needed to find an argument that would ensure that Merlin would come with them of his own will.

Lord Reginald paused, presumably waiting for the King to congratulate him for his magnanimous gesture, but when Uther only narrowed his eyes, the Lord hurried on. "We propose to take the boy with us for a period of time… simply to train him. Although it will be a hardship for us, perhaps away from the distractions of Camelot he will find it easier to understand his proper position and he can shortly be returned to the Prince with a much-improved attitude along with new skills which Arthur will surely come to appreciate." The brothers had reasoned that the only plan which Merlin would not be able to refuse would be one which made coming with them a condition for his continuing to serve the Prince.

"And you are doing this purely out of your sense of duty," Uther stated, not missing how Sir Derrick was now openly leering at the boy, nor how Merlin was beginning to look quite ill.

"Of course, Sire," said Lord Reginald. "It would be an honour to have trained the Prince's manservant, and we do have much experience in correcting disobedient behaviour. With us, in no time I am sure that his disrespect, laziness and incompetence will be things of the past."

"That is very generous of you," Uther said. "I realize that the boy has a tendency towards clumsiness, and of speaking out when it may not seem appropriate." He glanced over at Merlin, who was watching him wide-eyed with horror, obviously worried that he would soon be handed over to the now-grinning noblemen.

Uther scowled as though remembering something distasteful. "He does also tend to treat orders as … somewhat optional," he added, causing the servant to gulp anxiously.

"However," he shouted, in order to cut off Arthur who had risen to his feet ready to argue on behalf of his servant.

He fixed a stare on his son, and once Arthur had sunk back into his seat, the King leaned forward, and lowered his voice. "However," he repeated, "as for the rest of your allegations – disrespect, incompetence, laziness; my own information, Lord Reginald, tells a somewhat different story."

Merlin and Arthur shared uncertain glances, not sure what the King meant. It almost sounded like Uther was taking Merlin's side in the matter.

Lord Reginald had quickly come to the same conclusion. "Sire, has he made some complaint to you?" the noble spluttered. "If so, I must object. After all, his word cannot be trusted; he is but a servant after all."

Uther rose to his feet. "Do you doubt _my_ word, Sir Reginald, or my ability to see what is right in front of my eyes?" he asked.

Sir Reginald seemed to shrink under the King's anger. "No, Sire! No, of course not," he answered. "I just…," but he could think of no argument, and could only gape as the King leaned forward, his hands on the table.

"Let us first talk of disrespect," Uther said. "I have watched all evening as you have been bothering the young man and monopolizing his time. _He_ has taken much trouble not to let your selfishness hamper the service he is providing to everyone else, while _you_ have seemed quite oblivious about the disruption you have been causing to your peers."

The King paused for a moment, enjoying how both Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald had become pale, and were practically cowering where they sat. He also inwardly smiled at the gapes of disbelief that had appeared on the faces of both Arthur and his servant, although he acknowledged that they had reason to be surprised that he was showing favour to the boy above nobles from his court.

"And regarding your insinuations as to his incompetence and laziness," Uther continued, knowing that the young men would be even more astonished at what he said next, "I have personally witnessed you hindering the boy in his important work for the court physician. Work that, as many in this Hall will attest, he does diligently and often to the point of exhaustion. You also obstructed him in his duties for my son by ordering him to attend to unsanctioned and trivial activities. Or am I wrong that your complaint of his disobedience is related to what I saw in the knight's quarters this afternoon?" Uther's glare intensified and he was glad to see that both of the brothers were now trembling in fear.

Lord Reginald was unable to answer, leaving Sir Derrick to gulp and offer a guilty, "No, Sire," not daring to contradict the King or offer any type of excuse.

"So, your proposal is rejected," said Uther, straightening from where he still leaned on the table and pushing himself to his full height. "In fact, it is _your_ presence that I find an embarrassment to this Court, not the boy's, and so I would … _respectfully…_ request that you leave this hall," he continued, although nobody in the room would have taken the words as giving the brothers any type of choice.

" _Now!"_ the King shouted when the disgraced noblemen continued to sit in shock. "You are no longer welcome in my presence."

As Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald rose and hesitantly stepped away from the table, Uther spoke once more. "I will not banish you from the city nor from the coming tournament, since this matter is in fact rather insignificant," he announced.

The brothers shook off some of their shock and began to smile with relief, probably thinking that they would easily be able to put the fiasco behind them.

Uther was happy to remove that hope though. "However, should you decide to participate, bear in mind that among your allegations and evidence, you have given offence to my son," he reminded them, "and so naturally he will have an added incentive should he face you during the competition."

Sir Derrick looked over at Arthur, and the Prince's unfriendly glare left no doubt as to the truth of the King's statement.

Many of the other guests, especially the ones who had witnessed Sir Derrick's cowardly withdrawal from the 'demonstration' that morning, were openly smiling and snickering at the brothers' humiliation.

Lord Reginald and Sir Derrick took a last look around the room, and seeing no friendly faces, quickly headed to the doors and their escape from the hall.

* * *

Merlin was very happy when the dinner ended relatively early. He was still shaken by Lord Reginald's and Sir Derrick's proposal to take him away from Camelot, and could hardly believe that the King had not only rejected it, but had so strongly defended him against the brothers' allegations.

He trailed along behind Arthur, all the fatigue of the past day along with the stress of the evening catching up to him at once. It was not all that surprising that he did not notice Arthur stopping shortly after entering his chambers, and the young servant tripped, apparently on air, and dropped the empty goblet he had been carrying, in order to avoid running into the Prince.

"Perhaps I should ask Father to reconsider Lord Reginald's offer after all," said Arthur with a laugh. "A year or three of training may be just what you, and _I,_ need to turn you into an efficient and … well, … basically, George.

"Don't even joke about it," said Merlin with a shudder, as he scrambled to pick up the goblet. With a cheeky grin he added, "You may get what you asked for, but then what would you do without my subtle reminders about your prattishness?"

Arthur studied him for a moment. "Perhaps you are right," he answered. "I would also _sorely_ miss the look on your face whenever I send you to muck out the horses."

"Hey, I _practice_ that look," Merlin said, "And I will gladly give it to you at any time just for the asking. No need to send me to the stables, I promise."

Arthur was looking for another rejoinder when Uther unexpectedly entered the chambers, smiling broadly.

"Father, what can I do for you?" Arthur asked, uncertain as to why the King would be visiting so late in the evening, and why he was in such a good mood. "I was just about to get ready for bed."

"I will not be here for very long," Uther answered. "But before your servant left for the night, I wished … to commend him for his attention to Lord Branok today." The King turned slightly so he could speak to Merlin directly, even giving a small nod of approval to the young man. "He spoke very highly of the care he was given. As did Sir Robert regarding his wife and newborn heirs."

Merlin's eyes widened in shock at being complimented. "Thank you, Sire," he stammered.

"It has also come to my attention that I was overly quick in passing judgement when I found you asleep in my son's room this morning," the King continued, before turning back to the Prince. "Arthur, I think it would be in order to allow your servant the day off tomorrow to rest. We would not wish his service to be substandard after all, and this period of recuperation will allow him to better perform his duties the next day."

Arthur smiled at Merlin, who stood stock-still with astonishment at having received not only a vacation but also what amounted to an _apology_ , from the King. "Yes, Father, I think I should be able to make do without him for that long," the Prince answered.

"Good, then that is settled," said Uther, "Although, young man if you are able to stop in on Lord Branok from time to time tomorrow, I am sure he would appreciate it."

Merlin nodded, and then finally found his voice again. "Yes, Sire. I promise I will… I had already intended to do so," he said, reddening with embarrassment as he suddenly wondered if he may have seemed to be boasting. "Thank you, Sire," he added, unsure of what else he could say.

Uther gave another small smile to the servant and began to turn towards the door. "Oh, I almost forgot," he said, turning back around to face the Prince once more. "Arthur, I wanted to let you know that Sir Derrick and Lord Reginald have sent word that they have just received an urgent message from home and that regretfully, Sir Derrick must withdraw from the tournament."

Arthur laughed, and soon the King joined him in a rare shared moment of amusement; Merlin could not help his own snort of laughter as he watched them.

"I am sure he must be fairly _weeping_ with disappointment," said Arthur. "Perhaps I should go to his room to comfort him."

"Ah, well, that would have been very generous of you, but I am afraid it will not be possible," said Uther, still smiling broadly. "I have been told that they have already left the city."

"Is that so?" asked Arthur, still laughing. "That is too bad, as I would have liked a chance to test his skills."

Uther paused, and glanced over at Merlin who still stood, goblet in hand and taking in the very strange spectacle of the King and his son bantering. "But, we _have_ seen them tested tonight," Uther could not resist adding. "Sir Derrick did make a wonderful manoeuvre to avoid having a full plate of stuffed pheasant land in his lap."

Arthur had to wipe the tears out of his eyes.

"It was a shame it had to land on his feet though," Uther continued, pursing his lips as though in thought and adding with a sad sigh and a shake of his head, "he just did not seem the type to like to get his shiny boots dirty."

* * *

Uther turned and exited the chambers, still chuckling at the sound of the goblet that had fallen straight out of Merlin's hands as soon as the boy had heard the comment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it for 'hard-working' Merlin. I kinda liked the idea of Merlin and Arthur getting surprised by the King
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story, and thanks to everyone who followed and favourited. Special thanks to those who were able to take the time to leave a comment. These are always much appreciated :)
> 
> Anyway – I've already got the stories for Merlin's two remaining 'skills' underway, but I think I will take a little break before I complete them. I want first to get back to a whumpy hurt/comfort story that I've had half-written for a good two years, and see if I can finish that one off before I get back to this.


End file.
